The Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) has said Russia is trying to legitimize its "puppet" formations, the so-called "Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics" ("LPR/DPR"), by engaging them in the highest international platforms, in particular the UN, as well as by possible holding of a pseudo-referendum.
"The Russian Federation is trying to legitimize its puppet formations by engaging them in the highest international platforms, in particular the UN, as well as by possible holding of a pseudo-referendum, during which the 'will of the people of Donbas should be determined'; in addition, to qualify this process as 'the true implementation of the Minsk agreements,'" the Ukrainian delegation wrote on Facebook.
According to the diplomats, the result of the implementation of this plan may become Russia's unilateral recognition of the so-called "LPR" and "DPR" (terrorist organizations banned in Ukraine) as "independent republics" or a threat of such recognition.
Read alsoEstonia, UK, U.S. reiterate Russia active participant in Donbas war"This means attempts to exert pressure on Ukraine's senior military and political officials, which the Russian leadership was trying to undertake within a year after the Paris agreements, have failed," the report says.
"From attempts to maneuver in response to Ukraine's strong and internationally recognized steps to implement the entire set of Normandy agreements, the Russian leadership has switched to outright blackmail on the international community and, above all, France and Germany, trying to discredit their role as active and consistent participants in the Normandy format," the delegation said.
The Ukrainian diplomats stressed they regard such attempts by the Russian Federation as the penultimate step toward complete disregard of the international legal field and the transition to complete isolation from the international community.
