Authoritative IDPs attracted to Minsk TCG in Donbass: journalists and lawyers

Representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, who were forced to leave the occupied territories, have become part of the Ukrainian delegation in the Trilateral Contact Group, where they will represent CADLO, - the press service of the President's Office reports.

The next round of consultations has begun in the political working group of the Trilateral Contact Group for a Peaceful Settlement in the Donbass this morning in a video conference format.

It is noted that the representatives of areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, were involved in the TCG dialogue as part of the Ukrainian delegation for the first time.

"The engagement of representatives of CADLO is carried out in order to implement the provisions of the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, in particular clause 9, clauses 11-12, which provide for consultations with representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasets regarding the criteria of a political settlement and amendments to the legislation", - the report says.

So, the Donetsk oblast is represented at today's meeting by well-known journalists Denis Kazansky and chief editor of the OstroV news agency Serhiy Harmash. They were forced to leave Donetsk captured by the militants in 2014 under duress.

"We will not negotiate with the "DNR". These three letters are not in the Minsk agreements. We, as representatives of CADLO, will consult with our government and coordinate or not coordinate its decisions on the important issues regarding the Donbass! After all, disregard our interests means paving the way for future, now really civil, conflicts. Russia, as a party to the conflict, can also "invite" anyone there, but since the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (together with their certain areas) are administrative units of Ukraine (and the whole world recognizes this, including Moscow), it is logical that Kyiv itself determines with whom it should be consulted in negotiations with Russia. I know that there will be doubters. But you can criticize the process by observing it from afar and from the sidelines, or you can enter it and directly influence its development, then everything depends only on the person's integrity. My position on Minsk and the future of the Ukrainian Donbass is principled and has not changed for all 6 years. If our current power team believes that the Minsk track needs to be worked out before its logical conclusion - well, let us go this way. Any real action is better than a five-year imitation of the action", - Serhiy Harmash wrote on his Facebook.

It is reported that the Luhansk oblast is represented by lawyer, chairman of the international non-governmental organization Vadim Goran. Also, a well-known doctor Konstantin Libster was declared to participate in the TCG from certain areas of the Luhansk oblast.