Photo from UNIAN
The Russian Federation will be forced to withdraw its forces from the now-occupied areas of Donbas, Ukrainian Deputy Minister for temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons Yuriy Hrymchak told TV Channel 5, commenting on the meeting of U.S. special representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker and Putin's aide Vladislav Surkov.
Hrymchak said that the decision to withdraw Russian troops from Donbas had already been taken. According to the official, the only thing being discussed now, is how exactly the Russian troops will leave eastern Ukraine.
Read alsoPutin’s aide Surkov playing central role in supervising Donbas militants - media"Some might have thought that Surkov was to go out after the talks, pulling his hair and whining that everything was falling apart [for Russia]. But this just does not happen that way, because he is a grown-up boy and if he has been given five positions that they [Moscow] must fulfill, otherwise there will be a big badaboom to them. So, he just goes out and says that they have almost agreed on everything. The only thing that is surprising is that he hasn’t said a word about imposing sanctions if Ukraine did not comply with Minsk agreements. I think that the decision on Donbas has already been taken, and they will withdraw. The only thing being discussed today is how they will leave, on what terms, and so on," Hrymchak said.
Read alsoPutin's aide upbeat after first meeting with U.S. envoy for Ukraine - mediaAs UNIAN reported earlier, Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov said that fresh ideas of resolving the Ukraine crisis had emerged during his first meeting with U.S. special representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker on Monday.