Donetsk, Dec 10 – DAN. The lack of political will in Kiev is the true reason behind the stalemate in the Minsk Agreements, the Republic's Ombudswoman Daria Morozova said.
The sole reason why the talks on POW swaps are failing, she said, is that Kiev is unwilling to fulfil its obligation on legal clearance of already liberated detainees, as stipulated by the Contact Group protocols dated December 23, 2019 and April 8, 2020.
"We know that Kiev could have finalized all the procedural issues in the shortest span of time if it was willing to do so," Morozova said.
"I have already mentioned that the reason behind the deadlock situation is that Ukrainian authorities lack the political will. Whether it is a wave generated by Western curators, or a conscious line of Ukrainian leadership, is a rhetorical question," she said.
"An objective and principled stance of the international community could contribute to transformation" of the Ukrainian current position, she added.
At the December 8 meeting of the Contact Group, Ukraine wriggled out of its commitment to carry out the legal clearance of liberated detainees, offering instead to free 24 people and pardon 13 previously liberated.
During the POW exchanges in 2019-2020 the DPR received 71 people. The sides agreed to carry out the legal clearance of the released persons. Kiev has not delivered on its commitment. *ot