DONETSK. March 24 (Interfax) - The peaceful settlement of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine will come to a halt without Russia, France and Germany's participation, said Denis Pushilin, deputy speaker of the legislature in the self-declared Donetsk people's republic.
"Without the guarantor nations' participation the peace process will finally find itself in a dead end, as Ukraine has violated and continues violating a growing number of basic provisions in the comprehensive plan, including the provisions on heavy arms pullout from the separation line (Point 2), on the monitoring of the ceasefire (Point 3), on the beginning of the talks on elections in Donbas and on deciding which districts will have special political and economic status (points 4 and 12)," Pushilin said, according to Donetsk News Agency.
Pushilin also said that the peaceful settlement is also being obstructed by the position assumed by the Ukrainian leadership. "No attempts have been made by Ukraine or the OSCE to meet in the Contact Group since the parliament adopted its decisions," he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that the political directors would meet in Paris in the Normandy format on March 25 to settle the situation in Ukraine. The Normandy quartet is comprised of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.