Donetsk, May 18 – DAN. The fact that Donbass residents representing the DPR and LPR at the Minsk talks possess Russian passport does not give Kiev's representatives any grounds to refuse negotiations with them, but only testifies to Ukraine's policy failure in the region, said DPR Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova.
On May 15, Ukrainian vice prime minister on the "reintegration of the temporary occupied territories" Alexey Reznikov said in an interview to the Novosti Donbassa website that LPR representative Vladislav Deinego has Russian citizenship and showed its photocopy.
"The fact that those people have Russian passports is another reminder that fewer and fewer Donbass residents believe in Kiev's peace intentions," Nikonorova said.
"The more Ukraine violates our inherent rights and freedoms, the more hatred and misunderstanding is incorporated in its actions and its representatives' rhetoric, the wider the gap between Ukraine and the Republic becomes," she said.
Nikonorova said that the talks should be held between Ukraine and those people who live and work in Donbass, who have not left it.
She has published the photos of her documents, including a Russian passport, saying that the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin to issue passports for Donbass residents was highly appreciated.
"It was a necessary measure as Ukrainian authorities have been limiting Donbass rights and freedoms for the past six years, they are tirelessly applying efforts to make it harder to cross the contact line and obtain any Ukrainian documents," Nikonorova said.
On April 24, 2019 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the degree to ease obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of the Donbass Republics. Donbass Republics residents travel to Russia’s Rostov region to collect their Russian passports. *ot