Putin uses every opportunity to discredit Minsk process – Gerashchenko

Ukraine’s representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), First Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Iryna Gerashchenko, predicts the attempts of Russian President Vladimir Putin to discredit the Minsk process in order to lift sanctions against Russia.

She said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"Of course, now there is a very difficult situation, stagnation, which will intensify with the approach of elections, since Putin will use every opportunity to discredit the "Normandy format" and the Minsk process. Because he wants to get rid of sanctions, accuse Ukraine of non-compliance with agreements, manipulate saying that allegedly there is a civil conflict in Donbas, but "they are not there"," Gerashchenko said.

She once again reminded that in Minsk there was no progress in the issue of release of hostages, disarmament, admission of humanitarian missions, creation of a working subgroup concerning the border.

"The Minsk agreements are not ideal, but they are important because they have the signature of the representative of the Russian Federation, and Moscow is now responsible for its inactivity and failure to comply with agreements through sanctions. And sanctions are tied precisely to the implementation of the Minsk agreements," she said.

In her opinion, now there is no alternative to the Minsk process and other formats of negotiations.

On Tuesday, July 17, Paris will host a meeting in the "Normandy format" at the level of deputy diplomatic advisers to the presidents of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia.

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