KYIV. Aug 13 (Interfax) - Ukraine is forming its most effective team yet to defend its interests at meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) in Minsk, which is negotiating a settlement of the Donbas conflict, the Office of President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"The president has delegated [the duties of] organizing the defense of the Ukrainian position in a complicated negotiation for Ukraine's second president Leonid Kuchma. Under his leadership, we are now forming our most effective team to productively defend Ukraine's position in the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk," the Office said in response to an Interfax request for comment on the firing of Roman Bezsmertnyi as Ukraine's representative in the TCG political subgroup.
Currently, the Minsk negotiation remains the sole platform where Ukraine can discuss important issues concerning Donbas, such as a ceasefire, prisoner return, and the exchange of captives, the presidential Office said.
President Zelensky fired Bezsmertnyi on August 13.
On June 19, Zelensky signed a decree reappointing three authorized representatives, including Oleksandr Motsik, to the TCG subgroups. However, on July 9, Zelensky replaced him with Bezsmertnyi, who had already represented Ukraine in the subgroup in 2015-2016.
Bezsmertnyi himself said that he had learnt about his dismissal from the media.