Donetsk, Oct 12 - DAN. Coordinator for the OSCE in the Contact Group subgroup on political issues Sylvie-Agnes Bermann presented at the Tuesday video conference a new version of the DPR Road Map for unblocking the negotiations, Donetsk People’s Republic Deputy Foreign Minister, DPR representative in the political subgroup Natalia Mikhailova said.

DPR representatives said that the document was in the works after the previous session of the political subgroup on September 28. Back then, it was also announced that the draft Road Map was sent to the OSCE for circulation between all the participants. Ukraine did not receive the document. The discussion was derailed.

“At today’s session, the coordinator for the OSCE (Sylvie-Agnes Bermann - eds Donetsk News Agency) presented an updated document on the Road Map, but no substantive work was done as Ukrainian representatives kept looking for pretexts to avoid substantive discussion,” Mikhailova said in comments on the current situation in the subgroup.

Berman supported the Republics’ proposals for phased discussion of Road Map provisions, but Kiev representatives began philosophizing about the essence of the Minsk Agreements, the number of “windows” in the online conference, delegations' membership, capacity of participants and other procedural and technical issues, she said.

“Thus, even the new OSCE mediator sees that it is Ukraine that bears full responsibility for obstructing the preparation of the consolidated Road Map project in accordance with the Contact Group instruction, and in general, for the sabotage of the peaceful settlement in Donbass,” the DPR representative said.

The Contact Group talks over the settlement in Donbass became complicated after the Ukrainian parliament adopted a resolution on local elections last summer, whose article four contradicts the Minsk Agreements. It was suggested that the subgroup's work be reanimated by approving the appropriate Road Map. In October 2020, the DPR and the LPR sent their proposals to the Contact Group. Ukraine did not respond but a month later Kiev presented its own “plan of steps.” However, the DPR said that 78 percent of the document was a violation of the Package of Measures. *jk