Interfax: Ukraine insists on efficiency of Geneva negotiating format – Yatsenyuk

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KYIV. Nov 19 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian leadership believes the Geneva format of negotiations with Russia is the optimal one, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

“This is a common position of the Ukrainian head of state and head of government: the Geneva format, with the U.S.’, the EU’s, Russia’s, and Ukraine’s involvement, is the best and the most effective format for negotiations,” Yatsenyuk said at a Cabinet meeting in commenting on recent remarks by Russian officials suggesting that the Geneva negotiating format is no longer relevant.

Ukraine will not hold direct negotiations with representatives of the self-proclaimed republics, he said.

“Russia is doing whatever it can to digress from this [Minsk] format and is offering us an Abkhazia No. 2 on Ukrainian territory,” he said.

To guarantee the establishment of peace, the parties should choose a negotiating format acceptable to the entire world, primarily to Ukraine, he said.

“We need guarantees, and therefore we have insisted and are insisting on the need to implement all the 12 provisions of the Minsk agreements,” he said.

The government will keep trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the eastern regions, Yatsenyuk said. However, as long as these territories are under control of the armed groups opposing Kyiv, “there is no opportunity to deliver social payments, or benefits, or other resources there,” he said.

“There were no elections in Donetsk and Luhansk, and there is no other legitimate authority on the Ukrainian state’s territory but Ukrainian authority,” Yatsenyuk said.

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