Donetsk, Jan 20 – DAN. Martin Sajdik, ex-Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Contact Group, receives remunerations from lobbying funds and organizations for supporting Ukraine in the Minsk process, said DPR Public Chamber head Alexander Kofman.
In his interview to the Kommersant newspaper, Sajdik sharply criticized Russia's role as a mediator in the Donbass conflict settlement, and blamed Donetsk and Lugansk directly for their unwillingness to be a part of Ukraine. At the same time, he justified Kiev's failure to fulfill the agreements by the necessity to endorse all the decisions as one package, which should include the transfer of control over the Donbass-Russian border to Ukraine.
"We understand why Sajdik allows himself to undisguisedly take Ukraine's side, justify Ukrainian authorities' inability to fulfill their obligations under the Minsk Agreements. As to our knowledge, and as it is proved by such statements, Martin Sajdik, as well as ex-U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker, receives remunerations from lobbying funds and organizations for unconditionally supporting Ukraine in the Minsk process," Kofman said.
"It raises a fair question – can a mediator in a peace settlement be considered neutral and objective if one of the sides of the conflict earns his loyalty by way of remuneration?"
He said that Ukraine has been preoccupied with derailing the Minsk process since 2014: "ATO, law on reintegration, law on state language, education, secondary education. While Ukraine works towards avoiding its obligations, we shall be acting in accordance with our needs," Kofman said. *ot