RIA Novosti: Ukrainian separatists call for new round of Minsk Group talks

(RIA Novosti – Donetsk, November 13, 2014) Representative of the DPR [Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic] at the tripartite negotiations Denys Pushylin [Denis Pushilin] has called for a new meeting of the Minsk Group with the participation of the OSCE, Ukraine and Russia as soon as possible.

“We insist that the Minsk Group should meet immediately and invite representatives of the OSCE, Russia and Ukraine,” it says in Pushylin’s statement.

He also confirmed the DPR’s commitment to the “Minsk format with the participation of Russia, OSCE, DPR and LPR [Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic], as well as Ukraine”. “Representatives of the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics are ready to go to Minsk in the next few days and get to work,” Pushylin said.

“A pause in the Minsk Group’s work has clearly been too long. We do not understand why Kiev is delaying with agreeing the date and agenda of the next meeting,” he said.

“One gets the feeling that Kiev is trying to stop the Minsk process completely in order to renounce direct contacts with the republics,” the representative of the self-proclaimed DPR said.