Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has appointed ex-President of the country Leonid Kuchma Ukrainian representative to the Contact Group on peaceful settlement in Donbass.
“On June 5, a regular meeting of the Contact Group will take place in Minsk, the Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Leonid Kuchma,” he said at a joint briefing with Kuchma in Kiev.
Zelensky said that he had held meetings with foreign partners on the settlement in Donbass. “I have met with the partners from the United States and the European Union, we discussed the issue of ceasefire. We have a unified stance on the Normandy format and how to unblock the Minsk process,” the President said. “We have specific proposals and new solution for Donbass, however, no one will be trading the territory and sovereignty of Ukraine,” he underlined.
Kuchma quit the post of the Ukrainian representative to the Contact Group in autumn 2018, but now said that he could not but agree to Zelensky’s proposal. “I am used to making decisions, implementing them and being responsible for them. Today’s meeting with the Ukrainian President shows that I have the opportunity to make a contribution,” he said, warning that he does not want to play a decorative role.