“We are ready to meet with experts and other people [from Kiev], as long as they are authorized and this is confirmed by documents,” Deinego told RIA Novosti Saturday.
Deinego and Denis Pushilin, Minsk talks envoy from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, arrived in the Belarusian capital Friday morning. The two negotiators left shortly, stating that Kiev’s representative at the Minsk talks, former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, had failed to arrive.
Kuchma said that a meeting could take place on Saturday and noted that the leaders of the self-proclaimed republics should personally attend negotiations.
In early September, a meeting of the Contact Group, which comprises representatives of Kiev, Moscow, OSCE and the self-proclaimed republics in East Ukraine, resulted in a ceasefire agreement between Kiev and eastern Ukrainian militia. A memorandum specifying the ceasefire’s implementation was signed shortly after.
Despite the truce deal, fighting has continued in Ukraine's eastern regions. Dozens of civilians have been killed in shelling incidents over the past few weeks, with both Kiev and local militia accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.
