MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has branded the latest proposal by the Ukrainian authorities to hold the Contact Group’s meetings on the Donbass conflict in another city instead of Minsk as "hypothetical stupidity."
"This is the same hypothetical stupidity that we hear from Kiev’s representatives in different areas over and over again," she told reporters at a press briefing on Friday. "This is about the same as the statement by the Ukrainian president’s press secretary about a certain Ukrainian Russian language."
There is nothing new in the statement made by Ukraine’s representatives, Kiev came up with such initiatives before, the diplomat went on to say. "The issue is not discussed in a meaningful way within the Contact Group. The prospects for switching to face-to-face meetings look rather vague, primarily because of the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions," Zakharova stressed. "Belarus did not raise the issue either. It remains ready to ensure that meetings of the Contact Group involving all the participants are held in accordance with the highest international standards."
By making such comments, Kiev is sticking to its tactic of disrupting compliance with its obligations under the Minsk agreements, she noted. "This is an act of overt sabotage of the agreements that have been reached. It is this policy of sabotage that has brought the situation on the negotiation track to a dead end," Zakharova stressed.
Kiev’s representatives at the Minsk talks earlier said that Ukraine’s delegation would not take part in the Contact Group talks in the Belarusian capital after the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted. Explaining away that decision, Ukraine’s envoy Leonid Kravchuk said that at present Kiev did not view Belarus as a democratic and independent state. According to Kravchuk, Poland or another "neutral and democratic" country could become an alternative venue. Currently, negotiations of the Contact Group are held via videoconference because of the coronavirus pandemic.
