Kravchuk Spoke in Favor of U.S. Joining the Donbass Talks

To overcome the deadlock in the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the participation of the United States is necessary. This was stated by the new head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group. The first president of independent Ukraine and the new head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbass resolution, Leonid Kravchuk, spoke in favor of US participation in negotiations to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He stated this on Saturday, August 1, on the air of the Ukraine 24 TV channel. “I will say frankly: ... until the United States is introduced into the format for establishing peace in Donbas, it will be very difficult. Because I think that the strongest, richest country in the world can have the greatest impact,” he said, adding that US participation is possible “in the future”. Kravchuk also spoke in favor of talks with representatives of the regions not controlled by Kiev on the condition that these representatives are not associated with the political leadership of these regions. “There are people there who do not deal with purely political issues. Perhaps there are scientists, someone else. You can nominate representatives on both sides, and start talking at this level. So that it doesn’t look like the state level,” he said. The Trilateral Contact Group for a Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Eastern Ukraine (Minsk Group, the TCG) was formed in the summer of 2014. It includes representatives of the OSCE, Russia and Ukraine. The group acts as a working body to resolve operational issues in the framework of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. On July 30, Leonid Kravchuk replaced another ex-president Leonid Kuchma as head of the delegation to the TCG.