Russian Representative in Ukraine Contact Group to Arrive in Minsk May 6

Former President Leonid Kuchma is also to arrive in the Belarusian capital on Wednesday.

MINSK (Sputnik) – Russia’s representative in the contact group talks on the Ukrainian crisis will arrive in Minsk on May 6, a diplomatic source told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

“Special envoy [Azamat] Kulmukhametov will arrive in Minsk tomorrow. He is currently representing Russia in the contact group in place of [Russian Ambassador to Ukraine] Mikhail Zurabov,” the source said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the source said that Ukraine’s representative to the talks, former President Leonid Kuchma, was also to arrive in the Belarusian capital on Wednesday.

The source added that apart from Kulmukhametov, a large group of Russian representatives will arrive in Minsk to hold talks both within the contact group and working subgroups.

The three-party contact group, which includes representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), is expected to meet with representatives from self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics on Wednesday.

The focus of the discussion is expected to be on the formation of working subgroups to oversee the implementation of the Minsk peace agreement hammered out in mid-February.

According to the UN figures, the inter-Ukrainian conflict has already left over 6,000 people dead.