Ukraine will take proactive position in all further talks in Trilateral Contact Group - Yermak

07.05.2020 17:10

Ukrinform

A high level of Ukraine's representation in the Trilateral Contact Group should demonstrate to the world the country's serious commitment to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and it will remain in place even if Russia makes no steps on its part.

Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak told this to reporters on Thursday, May 7, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The decision has been made to increase Ukraine's representation in the TCG. I believe that with this step Ukraine once again demonstrates the seriousness of its intentions to implement the Minsk agreements. We want to move forward and not to waste time. Today we are showing the world and, in particular, Russia that Ukraine is doing everything in its power to fulfill the Minsk agreements without crossing our 'red lines.' If there are no retaliatory steps, we will continue to work in the same format," Yermak said.

He reiterated that the parties to the TCG are Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE, "there are no other parties in the TCG - there are invited people."

At the same time, Yermak noted that the initiatives of the Ukrainian side are not a "100 percent panacea," but "this is our sovereign right."

"We think we need it and our position will be proactive. Ukraine will be the initiator. Ukraine will be the dominant party in all further negotiations. No one will wait anymore. The war is going on in our territory, our people are dying. That's why today we will take a dominant position," Yermak said.

On May 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed the composition of the Ukrainian delegation for participation in the Trilateral Contact Group for the Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Donetsk and Luhansk Regions.

The Ukrainian delegation to the TCG is headed by Leonid Kuchma, the president of Ukraine in 1994-2005.

The delegation also includes Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov (first deputy head of the delegation), Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation, MP Oleksandr Merezhko (deputy head of the delegation), Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Yulia Svyrydenko (Ukraine's representative in the working subgroup on socio-economic issues), Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, and MP Andriy Kostin (Ukraine's representative in the working subgroup on political issues).

In addition, the delegation includes Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk (Ukraine's representative in the working subgroup on security issues), Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights, and MP Halyna Tretiakova (Ukraine's representative in the working subgroup on humanitarian issues).