Zelenskyi: Ukraine doesn't blackmail, both Europe and Russia see it
photo: the Office of the President of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi assures that Ukraine doesn't blackmail, but finds a balance for the meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group.
He stated this during a joint press conference with the President of Slovakia Zuzana Čaputová in Bratislava, Ukrinform reports.
"Ukraine is not blackmailing. Everyone sees it, both Europe and Russia. Today we find a balance for the TCG meeting in Minsk, a balance in a calculated policy, and the dialogue in the TCG meeting, and in the dialogue with the Russian Federation as a subject of the Minsk process," Zelenskyi said in response to a question about Ukraine's reaction to Russia's blocking the TCG negotiation process by demanding that the Verkhovna Rada adopt a resolution on elections in separate districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
According to the President, the dialogue is "fragile, unstable", but Ukraine is doing everything to turn the dialogue into a result.
Zelenskyi noted that there are some results. In particular, he reminded that the ceasefire continues in Donbas.
"We know the result of "Minsk" or "Normandy" meetings. It means a difficult ceasefire, a tough regime of silence, but we have a result," Zelenskyi said, adding that "if not for targeted provocations, we would have saved the lives of all the people who died in the fighting."
Zelenskyi reminded that on September 6, one Ukrainian military servant was killed in shelling in Donbas.
To recap, on September 16, TCG discussed the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada about local elections. Russian representatives insist that it does not comply with the Minsk agreements.
The current resolution on local elections, approved by the Rada, specifies that local elections in the occupied territories can take place only after ceasing occupation and Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, withdrawing all illegal armed groups from Ukraine, and resuming control of the borders.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine reconsider the resolution. If we refuse, Russia threatens to block the settlement process in eastern Ukraine, including the exchange of prisoners and a meeting of the leaders of the Normandy format.
The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, noted that Ukraine did not promise to change the resolution on local elections held in the occupied territories during the meeting of advisers in the Normandy format.
It was reported that the Russian party blocked negotiations in TCG on Donbas. It continues demanding from Ukraine as an ultimatum that the Verkhovna Rada vote for the laws it requires, Denys Kazanskyi, the representative of the Donetsk region in the Ukrainian delegation of the TCG, reported.
