Kravchuk: Ukraine's real enemy is Putin, not Pushilin

The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group, Leonid Kravchuk, has said that his refusal to participate in a program on Russian TV together with the leader of the so-called "DPR," Denis Pushilin, would be a mistake, because the first president of Ukraine should not be afraid of such people.

According to Ukrinform, Kravchuk stated this in an interview with Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

"I take the position that the main thing is not who you talk to, but what you talk about. When I talked on Russia's Channel One, there was a link-up with Pushilin. Just imagine, I get scared and leave the channel's program. What would they think of me? That the first president got scared of Pushilin? I did not talk to him. I asked him a single question. Does he really want to build a Russian nation-state in Donbas or not? If he wants that, then what are we talking about at the Minsk conference? He said this to the whole world. I made him give an official answer," Kravchuk said.

When asked what he would say to Russian President Vladimir Putin if he had such an opportunity, Kravchuk that Russia should get out of Donbas first.

"I would say first that in order for me to communicate with him, he must make the decision [on Russia] getting out of Ukraine. There is nothing to talk about. He is Ukraine's real enemy, not Pushilin. […] These are people who do not decide anything. These are people who just carry out instructions or through whom instructions are carried out. The Kremlin makes decisions and one person in Russia makes decisions. The name of this person is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin," Kravchuk said.

On February 15, Kravchuk took part in a program on Russia's Channel One during which Pushilin openly stated his intention to gradually integrate the occupied territories of Donbas into Russia.

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