New representatives of Ukraine to the Minsk venue so far demonstrate in their media statements a distorted and often completely contradictory approach to the talks, DPR Plenipotentiary Representative and Minister of Foreign Affairs Natalya Nikonorova stated on August 12.
“The ideas about a new wording on some special administrative regime are in fact yet another attempt to rewrite the Minsk Agreements; that has already become a tradition for Ukraine. However, we have to remind them once again: such attempts failed for all the previous representatives, and, accordingly, will fail in this case too.
It is high time that Kiev realized and accepted the obvious fact: it is pointless to try to change, supplement or reduce the Complex of Measures or other agreements of the Minsk package. They just must be implemented in mandatory and consistent coordination with the second party to the conflict — the republics.
Statements that the Minsk Agreements should be brought in line with the Ukrainian reforms are also very perplexing. In reality it is exactly the opposite: these Ukrainian reforms must be implemented in full compliance with the Complex of Measured approved by the UN Security Council. And this means, among other things, the implementation of the constitutional reform, in whose follow-up the special status of Donbass must be enshrined in the constitution of the country. The statements that this is allegedly unrealistic, firstly, are untrue, secondly, will not help Kiev to quit this obligation under the Complex of Measures, and, thirdly, bring out the worst in the Ukrainian authorities themselves.
We call on the representatives of Kiev to be guided both in their speeches for the media and during the negotiations first of all by the simple truth: the Minsk Agreements are the only way to settle the conflict in Donbass peacefully.
As long as Ukraine does not stop twisting the essence of these agreements and substituting notions, or trying to take some steps to implement political and other items of the Complex of Measures without coordinating with us, no real settlement is possible,” Nikonorova said.
