MINSK. June 19 (Interfax) - New leaders in Kyiv have missed the opportunity to normalize the Donbas situation: the Ukrainian army has increased its activity, and the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement has failed, Russia's representative in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Boris Gryzlov told reporters on Wednesday.
"I must say that Kyiv authorities have missed opportunities opened for them after the election. Donbas has even more reasons not to trust Kyiv now. Actions by the new Kyiv administration are increasingly at odds with the position voters expressed in the presidential election. The positive changes that people expected after the election are not actually taking place. The blockade of Donbas by Kyiv is continuing, as are Kyiv's fire attacks on Donbas, and there is no political dialogue with Donbas," Gryzlov said.
The deteriorating situation along the contact line was the main subject discussed at the TCG meeting on Wednesday, Gryzlov revealed.
"Last week Kyiv derailed the disengagement near Stanytsia Luhanska agreed by the parties earlier at a TCG meeting. The Ukrainian Armed Forces sharply increased their activity in Donbas instead. But this is completely contrary to what a majority of Ukrainian voters voted for. This isn't obviously going to bring about peace in Ukraine. Overall, Kyiv is not showing readiness to meet its commitments under the Minsk agreements. Recent statements by Kyiv authorities, including on foreign grounds, are nothing but an attempt to talk round the issue of Minsk agreements and an attempt to evade their obligations to implement them," he said.
The Russian envoy once again called on Kyiv to forge a direct dialogue with Donbas.
"I call on Kyiv authorities to avoid repeating mistakes and crimes of their predecessors and avoid stepping on the same rake. To make the situation better in any way, a direct dialogue involving Kyiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk needs to be developed. As a mediator in the Minsk process, the Russian delegation would support any practical measures to secure a ceasefire and ensure monitoring over their observance jointly with OSCE representatives. Regrettably, this task is not any easier today. It is under the new administration that Kyiv derailed the disengagement. It is under the new administration that the Ukrainian army organized the operation near Maryinka. The new authorities have done nothing to make it possible for the people Kyiv promised to release back in 2017 to return to Donbas," Gryzlov said.