Kiev Evaded Formulation Of Russia's Obligations On Donbas Settlement - Moscow Source

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2021) Russia offered Ukraine to formulate Moscow's commitments to resolve the conflict in Donbas, but Kiev backed out, a source close to the talks between political advisers and representatives of the Normandy Format foreign ministries said on Monday.

According to the source, all attempts to find out how the participants in the negotiation process see a specific settlement process based on the Minsk Agreements, in accordance with the position stated, including publicly by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that Russia is a party to the conflict, stubborn silence was the answer.

Ultimately, political advisers of Germany and France suggested that the Russian side should call itself an aggressor in the draft final document and write itself obligations to resolve the conflict, the source said.

"In the end, Dmitry Kozak turned to the Ukrainian representative Andriy Yermak with a proposal to try to formulate Russia's obligations to resolve the conflict, taking into account the repeated public statements of Ukrainian officials on this issue. Quite unexpectedly, Mr. Yermak chose to 'stick his head in the sand,' saying that this should be done by representatives of Germany and France," the source said.