Interfax: LPR would like to secure direct dialogue with Kyiv through Contact Group

MOSCOW. May 19 (Interfax) – The leadership of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) views meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group for Ukraine as an instrument that may help launch direct dialogue between the self-proclaimed republics and Kyiv.

“It will be good if this [direct] dialogue takes place. But at this point, we are speaking about our work within the Contact Group and the working sub-groups. This is a mechanism that may help this dialogue take place. It will be good if such communication continues to broaden,” LPR chief negotiator Vladislav Deinego told Interfax.

The LPR and the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) “have repeatedly demonstrated their readiness for such a dialogue,” he added.

“We came to Minsk, but Kyiv refused to participate in these talks at the last moment. This proves our commitment to this dialogue,” he said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told Interfax earlier that any attempts to secure a long-term solution to the Donbas conflict “are doomed to failure” in the absence of Kyiv’s direct dialogue with Donetsk and Luhansk.