Donetsk, Apr 1 - DAN. Ukraine’s statement on a new truce in Donbass by the Easter holidays is nothing more than a publicity move, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Office at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) Ruslan Yakubov said on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, head of the Kiev delegation in the Contact Group Leonid Kravchuk told the Ukraine 24 television channel that Ukraine, at the next found of the Donbass peace talks, would insist on concluding the “Easter ceasefire.”
“Ukrainian speakers’ statements about the plans to agree a new truce is nothing more than the ongoing publicity campaign designed to cover up militant intentions,” Yakubov said. “Regrettably, we differ in our approaches towards the accords: we suggest mechanisms for their real and effective operation whereas they are merely looking for ways to show the intention to follow them.”
He is confident that at the present time, the parties have to focus on interaction within the framework of the coordination mechanism, methods of verifying violations and their elimination, and holding the culprits responsible.
Earlier, DPR representative at the Minsk talks Natalia Nikonorova said that Kiev had acknowledged non-fulfilment of the ceasefire accords by suggesting a new truce in Donbass.
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The indefinite and comprehensive ceasefire accords which have been formally in effect since July 2019 ban offensives and reconnaissance and subversive operations, the deployment of heavy armaments in residential areas and demand disciplinary measures against the violators. The additional measures have been in force since July 2020. They ban the use of all weapons, deployment of hardware, special operations, engineer works and unmanned aerial vehicles flights. By mid-September, Kiev had practically disavowed the “Additional Measures” rejecting the coordination mechanism for responding to violations.*jk