The Donetsk People’s Republic expects a significant change in Kiev’s stance on resolving the conflict in Donbass after the Normandy format summit in Paris on Friday, the DPR’s envoy to the Minsk peace talks, Denis Pushilin, has said.
“We hope there will be a conceptual change in Ukraine’s approaches when implementing the Minsk agreements. Indeed, a lot depends on this meeting,” Pushilin was quoted by the Donetsk news agency as saying ahead of the summit of the Normandy Four leaders.
Pushilin stressed that Kiev’s policy has seriously hampered the efforts on peaceful settlement in Donbass so far and the situation is likely to deteriorate if the Ukrainian leadership fails to revise the course.
“It is much more difficult to solve political and economic issues than the security ones. You saw how much time it took [the sides] to sign an absolutely simple document on withdrawing weapons with the caliber under 100mm,” he said.
The DPR envoy explained that this should have been done in March but due to Ukraine’s stance the deal was signed only earlier this week. He expressed hope that the Normandy format summit will contribute towards solving issues faster.
The leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine are due to gather in Paris on Friday for the Normandy format talks. This will be the third such face-to-face meeting of the four leaders since the so-called Normandy format of negotiations on the conflict in Ukraine was introduced in June 2014.
The sides are due to discuss a range of issues on resolving the conflict in Donbas, including holding local elections and weapons withdrawal.
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