Today, on January 27, Kiev’s representative and the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic met in Donetsk.
Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the Ukrainian Choice public organization, represented Ukraine at the meeting. Leader of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko and Head of the LPR Igor Plotnitskiy represented the self-defense forces, Rusvesna.su reports.
“They In Moscow hope the discussion that was launched in Donetsk will be continued, particularly, concerning such issues as ceasefire, withdrawal of artillery and rocket systems from the dividing line, launch of measures towards determination of the dividing line, prisoner swap,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said adding that the Kremlin expressed “cautious optimism” following the negotiations.
He believes that appointment of an official representative by Kiev at the negotiations in Minsk will help achieving these goals.
The UN Security Council convened in New York on Monday, wherein Russia urged the Kiev authorities not to look for pretexts to deny the dialogue, but to work to make progress in achieving a resolution to the conflict.