Donetsk, Jul 5 - DAN. Ukrainian politician Yulia Timoshenko’s statement alleging talks between Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko and the Donbass Republics leadership is part of election rhetoric, Donetsk People's Republic acting Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova told the Donetsk News Agency on Thursday.
“Apparently Timoshenko uses such alarmist statements to draw attention to her in the runup to the Ukrainian presidential election; she actually launched her election campaign,” Nikonorova said.
The diplomat made it clear that the People’s Republics had nothing to do with Ukraine’s political infighting and that they continued to insist on Kiev’s meeting the commitments it had undertaken within the scope of the Minsk peace talks.
“Back in 2014, the Donbass people clearly showed their unwillingness to have anything to do with the ongoing chaos and lawlessness in Ukraine. “We’re no longer concerned about Kiev’s political squabbles and want no part in them until Ukraine stops killing its own population and meets its Minsk Agreements commitments by providing special status to Donbass, decentralisation and amnesty,” Nikonorova said.
The DPR envoy to the Minsk talks, parliament speaker Denis Pushilin also commented on Timoshenko’s statement. He underlined that the People’s Republics had contacts with Kiev strictly within the framework of the Minsk talks.
Leader of Ukraine’s Batkivschina Party Yulia Timoshenko claimed that Poroshenko was in talks with the DPR and LPR leadership. The Ukrainian president’s rival also alleged that Poroshenko aimed to heighten tensions in Donbass in order to introduce martial law in Ukraine and use it as a pretext to cancel the presidential election scheduled for March 2019.*jk