Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin called the Ukrainian negotiators’ conduct at the 27 October meeting of the Contact Group disgusting and insolent on air of the Solovyov Live TV show.
According to him, Ukrainian officials keep making contradictory statements.
«They should be giving official, verified, authenticated information. Unfortunately, this is not the case,» Denis Pushilin said while speaking with Russian political analyst Dmitry Kulikov.
The Head of the DPR highlighted the biased attitude of the OSCE SMM staff towards one of the parties to the conflict, namely the people’s republics of Donbass.
«This is not the way a mediator should behave, to say nothing of an international organization which, according to its own mandate, is supposed to verify and record all the violations. At that, this this should be done in a very comprehensive manner so that conclusions can be drawn and some steps, not always large ones, but nevertheless, can be taken towards a diplomatic settlement of the conflict. This is not the case,» Denis Pushilin stated.
The Head of the DPR also commented on a statement from Germany which called on the parties to the conflict to de-escalate and make diplomatic efforts.
«We were called for restraint so that we would not undertake anything unexpected to liberate our own citizens, who are now hostages (after Staromarievka village in the Telmanovsky district of the DPR had been seized by Ukrainian militants – Ed.). There is the Geneva Convention, which prohibits terrorizing civilians. Right now this was happening in a very real sense. Why is there no proper reaction?» Denis Pushilin said.
According to him, Kiev is purposefully escalating the situation in Donbass.
«This is the third time Ukraine has directed its drones towards an oil depot located in one of the districts of Donetsk. There is a huge amount of fuel there. Should their plans come true, it will cause a technogenic catastrophe, half of the district may simply cease to exist. They are carrying out targeted attacks, being completely mindful of the consequences that these operations can inflict if successful.
Infrastructure facilities, which are crucial for the ongoing supply of heat, water and electricity to populated localities, get destroyed. These are a whole series of provocations that have been definitely planned and definitely designed to escalate the situation.
If we consider why Ukraine needs this, the answer is absolutely obvious. We can observe that there is an energy crisis out there with rising gas and energy tariffs, with protest sentiments that are already springing up in Ukraine. They need attention to be diverted. But not at that price, we do not agree with that. And we certainly do not agree to put up with that,» the Head of State said.
Denis Pushilin noted that judging by a series of provocative actions, officials in Kiev are not aware of the detrimental nature of their actions.
«Equipment is again being redeployed towards the front line from the Ukrainian side, it’s a fact. Will it be put to use or not? Anything can be expected from Ukraine. Are we ready? Yes, we are ready. We are ready today, we were ready yesterday, we will be ready tomorrow. Are the volunteers ready to come? As soon as there is a flare-up, a plenty of applications get received from volunteers. Because they understand what it entails. They understand that, given the fact that we are dealing with Ukraine, with its madness, this support may be helpful.
For our part, we are hopeful that it will not come to such a point and that we will still have the opportunity to focus more on enhancing civic capacity, focus on social and economic development – we have no right to leave this out either. Four million people cannot live for such a long period of time in fear of approaching military operations. We have to develop in all the spheres – in terms of both increasing wages, social benefits, and in terms of expanding all economic sectors,» the Head of State said.
Denis Pushilin added that the Republic will also have to face the threat of the coronavirus infection spread.
«The situation is not easy with this issue either. Though we are not the only ones facing this issue. We are aware of it and are taking fairly significant efforts,» he emphasized.
According to the Head of the DPR, if there is peace, the Republic will be moving steadily forward on the path of its development.
«If Ukraine bends every effort to get it back to full-fledged hostilities, of course, the situation will be adjusted. But once again: we have no right to let Ukraine’s aggression slide. There are diplomatic platforms, and we should use them to discuss the nature of our relations as neighbours.
Whether Ukraine likes it or not, the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics do exist and have existed for almost eight years. And the people living here are citizens of the Donetsk People’s Republic and citizens of the Russian Federation. And the children born here have not seen another country. These children have been enrolled in the first and second grades of primary school already. These are completely different people, who have witnessed from Ukraine only suffering, tears, destruction of infrastructure, houses, and loss of their relatives. This is what they have witnessed from the rest of Ukraine,» the Head of State concluded.
According to the Official Website of the Head of the DPR
