Donetsk links resumption of trade with Kiev to complete ceasefire

Trade relationships between Kiev and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) can be resumed only after full cessation of fire on the engagement line, says Denis Pushilin, Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic delegation to the Contact Group.

“Resumption of the trade relations with Kiev are covered by the Minsk Agreements. However, Ukraine has been fully ignoring these provisions. We understand that it is necessary to find a concession, but it is very hard to achieve this unless the military actions and provocations on the engagement line are ceased completely,” Pushilin said.

In his words, any attempts to establish trade with Ukraine amid continuous shelling by Ukraine’s Armed Forces and national battalions will anger the population in DPR. It is noteworthy that Ukraine’s security forces used tank guns against the town of Dokuchaevsk in the south of Donetsk late in the evening yesterday, despite the new ceasefire arrangement made in late April in Donbass prior to the Easter and May holidays.

EADaily reported earlier that Georgy Tuka, ex-governor of Lugansk  region of Ukraine, who has been recently appointed as deputy minister for “occupied territories,” believes that the trade with the ‘regions of Donbass’ beyond Kiev’s control may be resumed.