Leonid Kravchuk: Russia Got Tired of the War

The Russian Federation has enough of the war in eastern Ukraine. So, the Russian side will not insist anymore on the prolongation of Ukrainian law regarding the Donbas‘ special status during the Minsk talks. This was stated by the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Tripartite Contact Group (TCG) for the Donbas conflict settlement Leonid Kravchuk.

“I listen carefully to all Russians: the president, the foreign minister, Kozak, Gryzlov. I believe that they want peace in Donbas. I feel it. I do not guarantee that I have already understood everything in detail or looked, sorry, into the soul of each of them. But I think Russia is also tired of the war. Russian mothers whose sons die in the Donbas cry with the same bitter tears as Ukrainians. Therefore, the war should not go on. It has to end in peace,” Ukraine’s first president stated.

According to him, the negotiations without concessions have no perspectives, so he will have the courage to declare it.

“If suddenly we feel that they do not want any concessions, which I cannot exclude, so if we show that we are ready, but they say: ‘No’, well, then, at least, I have enough courage, strength and the will to say: ‘We did our best based on the Ukrainian legal framework, the Constitution, international law, but we were not heard, so I see that the Minsk process has no prospects. We are starting to look for other opportunities,'” Kravchuk declared.

He also added that, in this case, he would resign as the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG in Minsk.

To recap, earlier Kravchuk made several initiatives towards the Donbas situation settlement. In particular, he proposed to replace a “special status” definition by a “special regime of administrative management.” In addition, the first president of Ukraine announced a proposal to create a free economic zone in Donbas.

Bohdan Marusyak