"Noone should confuse the official with the personal" - the Office of the President commented on Fokin's statements
The Office of the President of Ukraine called the statements of the first deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation in the Trilateral Contact Group, Vitold Fokin, about the war in Donbas, unacceptable.
The statement of the Office of the President (OP) informs.
"Unpleasantly impressed by the personal assessments and comments made by the First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian delegation in the Trilateral Contact Group, Vitold Fokin, at a session of the Committee on the Organization of State Power in the Verkhovna Rada… Obviously, everyone who represents the state should always remember that you shouldn't confuse the official and the personal. If there are differences in position, and your own vision, whatever it may be, differs from the state's, you need to choose the state as long as you represent the state. The state's vision, not personal," the President's Office said.
The authors of the statement added, the official position of Ukraine completely coincides with the objective reality and political truth. "It was with the Russian invasion that the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol and certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine began. It is this state that fully controls the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and has a decisive influence on everything that happens there," the statement stressed.
As the Office of the President noted, the Ukrainian delegation in the Trilateral Contact Group has always worked based on a full understanding of Ukraine's national interests and the absolute truth about the war and who is who in this war.
"The personal opinions of each of the representatives of Ukraine not only never interfered with the negotiations but also did not contradict the official position of the state, our fundamental imperatives, and the tasks set by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to the delegation," the statement said.
The OP stressed that the society having paid a high price for its ideals has already properly assessed Fokin's statements, which strongly object to the official state position. It can't be ignored.
The goal of the state and its representatives is to achieve lasting peace only on Ukrainian terms: absolute and long-term ceasefire in Donbas, the release of all detainees, withdrawal of all illegal armed groups and military equipment from Ukraine, full de-occupation and return of control over Ukrainian-Russian border, the OP stated, adding that Ukrainian delegation in the TCG is working for this reason.
As reported, Fokin told at a session of the Verkhovna Rada committee on September 29, that he saw "no confirmation" of the war between Russia and Ukraine. He called Russia a "counterparty" and restated the need to declare a general amnesty in Donbas.
The Verkhovna Rada Committee has decided to initiate the adoption of a resolution calling on President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to terminate Fokin's participation in the Ukrainian delegation in the TCG.
