Zelenskyi fired Fokin from the TCG: “Representing the state is not a chance for expressing personal views”

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed a decree removing Vitold Fokin from the Ukrainian delegation in the TCG and relieving him of his duties as the first deputy head of the delegation.

The website of the Office of the President (OP) reports.

"It is essential for the president that all those entrusted with performing functions on behalf of the state should always be guided in their activities and statements by the national interests of Ukraine and act fairly. The president stated that Vitold Fokin withdrew from a fair assessment of the temporary occupation of Crimea, Sebastopol city, and separate districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Representing the state at any level is not a chance for expressing personal views and ambitions. It is an unconditional obligation to carry out the position of the state and the interests of the Ukrainian people.

The work of the Ukrainian delegation in the Trilateral Contact Group will continue based on a clear understanding of Russia's full control of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The primary goal of our delegation, and of the entire state, is returning all temporarily occupied territories, our people, and establishing lasting peace, only on Ukrainian terms.

We assert that we can't call the conditions for the temporary occupation of our territory part, simply peace, turning a blind eye to existing occupation structures and the complete lack of security in this territory. It is necessary to withdraw all illegal armed formations, their military equipment from Ukraine, carry out full de-occupation and return control over part of the border with Russia to Ukraine. That can be the only way to real peace," the OP reports.

The President's Office called on the members of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG to work 24/7 to achieve this primary goal.

As reported, Fokin stated at the Verkhovna Rada committee session 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 initiated the adoption of a resolution calling on President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to terminate Fokin's participation in the Ukrainian delegation in the TCG.