Kiev refuses to fulfil Yermak’s promises made at Normandy Four political advisors meeting

Donetsk, Feb 9 - DAN. Kiev representatives in the Contact Group subgroup on political issues made it clear that the promises made by the Ukrainian political advisor in the Normandy Four format had no significance, Donetsk People’s Republic representative in the political subgroup Natalia Mikhailova said on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian delegation continues to ignore the calls to intensify the discussion on coordination of the joint Road Map project, as well as its updated version sent by the Republics for discussion last year, Mikhailova said.

“Meanwhile, in letters to the coordinator, they expressed “extreme concern over a lack of progress in implementing the political aspects  of the joint coordinated conclusions of the Normandy Four summit in Paris in 2019, while at the recent meeting of the political advisors they stated that Ukraine would give written responses without exception to all circulated proposals regarding the political settlement, in particular the special status parameters. However, the Ukrainian representatives in the political subgroup made it clear that the promises of their political advisor had no significance,” the DPR representative said.

Kiev’s position only shows further attempts to delay and confuse the negotiating process, she said.

Earlier reports said that Andrey Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, pledged at the meeting of the advisors to the Normandy Four leaders to consider the proposals by the DPR and the LPR on political settlement in Donbass.

The Contact Group talks over the settlement in Donbass became complicated in the summer of 2020 after the Ukrainian parliament adopted a resolution on local elections, whose article four contradicts the Minsk Agreements. The Donbass republics suggested reanimating the subgroup's work by approving the appropriate Road Map. In October 2020, the DPR and the LPR sent to the Contact Group a draft Road Map to implement the Minsk accords. Ukraine did not respond but a month later it presented its own “plan of steps.” The DPR said that 78 percent of the document was a violation of the Package of Measures.  In late September 2021, DPR representatives said they had drawn a new Road Map. It was sent to the OSCE for circulation between all the participants. On October 12, the OSCE presented the document at the video conference of the political subgroup, but Kiev refused to discuss it.*jk