Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Donbas Leonid Kravchuk has suggested that the OSCE representatives develop a single document of proposals for Donbas settlement for its further adoption by the Normandy Four (Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia) leaders.
A regular meeting of the TCG at the level of the heads of delegations was held via videoconference on January 21, the Ukrainian delegation wrote on Facebook.
"A real desire for peace on the part of the Russian Federation will give a powerful impetus to the work of the TCG," Kravchuk said.
Read alsoRussia deliberately trying to block Donbas talks – KravchukAt the same time, he suggested to OSCE coordinators in TCG subgroup Pierre Morel "that a single document, which will include the best proposals and approaches elaborated by political advisers, be developed and presented."
In this regard, "the development of a single document, which will be backed by the Normandy Four leaders, is the main guideline for the TCG's further work," the Ukrainian delegation said.
According to Kravchuk, "if the consultation process is approached from this position, the TCG will have every chance to move on to more constructive steps to implement the decisions adopted within the set of agreements, starting from 2014."
Ukraine's Plan for Donbas: Five key points
- On November 5, the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG outlined five key points of the new action plan for Donbas:
- Withdrawal of foreign troops, illegal armed groups, and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine in early 2021;
- Cancellation by Russian authorities of a number of decisions and documents that are direct interference in the life of the occupied parts of Donbas, for example, on the streamlined naturalization procedure for local residents;
- Restoration of control over the corresponding section of the Russian-Ukrainian border with the help of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission; and
- Fourfold increase in the size of the OSCE SMM mission (by 1,500 persons).
- Only if the first four conditions are met, comes the fifth point:
- - Preparation and holding of local elections in the occupied districts of Donetsk and Luhansk region (with the OSCE assistance).
Russia blocking talks on Donbas settlement action plan
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov says Russia continues blocking the Minsk talks regarding a joint action plan on Donbas settlement, put forward by Ukraine within the Trilateral Contact Group.
"Russia has no political will to move forward so far. They're dragging negotiations in every way possible. The Russian side has not yet formally submitted any plans that would be signed by [Russia's envoy to the TCG Boris] Gryzlov. Verbally, they say they'll be supporting the proposals submitted by representatives of the occupied 'ORDLO' [Russia-occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Donbas]."
