MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. The meeting between the leaders of the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk people’s republics and Kiev’s envoy on Monday focused on the resumption of the Minsk Contact Group’s work and the prisoner exchange, the LPR’s head Igor Plotnitsky said.
It is yet unclear whether the participants of the discussion, which took place in Donetsk, succeeded in finding a compromise on the issues, the official LuhanskInformCenter reported.
The Ukrainian side was represented by Viktor Medvedchuk, the leader of Ukrainsky Vybor (Ukrainian Choice) public organization, while the two self-proclaimed republics were represented by their respective heads, Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky.
Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego, the plenipotentiary representatives of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics at the Minsk talks, also attended the Donetsk consultations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Moscow was “cautiously optimistic” on the outcome of the meeting and hoped that the discussion would continue.
“Moscow hopes the discussion, which began in Donetsk in the course of preliminary consultations, will continue and will be reflected in the issues like ceasefire, the disengagement of artillery and rocket systems, the beginning of works to emplace the demarcation line, and the exchange of prisoners of war,” Peskov said.
Peskov said the appointment of an official representative at the Minsk talks by the Kiev government would facilitate achievement of these objectives.
The meeting was held in the form of preliminary consultations in the run-up to talks in the Minsk format. The Donetsk and Luhansk leadership have earlier expressed concerns about the prospects of the Minsk process amid the offensive operation launched by Kiev.