Russia deliberately disrupting work of TCG’s humanitarian working group

The Ukrainian delegation to TCG posted a relevant statement on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

The Ukrainian delegation informed that the Russian delegation had made a technical announcement less than a day before the meeting to inform that Ukrainian citizen Maya Pyrohova, convicted of terrorism in Ukraine, would join the humanitarian working group.

"The Ukrainian delegation sees this as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the consultations, especially given the Russian delegation's previous experience of blocking the work of the political working group in this way. The Ukrainian delegation does not hold consultations with persons convicted of terrorism," the statement reads.

Representatives of Ukraine emphasized that in this way the Russian delegation is trying to shift its direct and sole responsibility for the consistent failure to settle humanitarian issues, such as the exchange of conflict-related detainees, unblocking the operation of entry-exit checkpoints on the Russian side, and so on.

The Ukrainian delegation notes: "These attempts are futile. We call on the Russian representatives to return to the planned trilateral consultations."

As reported, the work of the Trilateral Contact Group will resume on August 25 after a short break. The meetings will be held through video conferencing.

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