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MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. The Ukrainian president’s rhetoric is indicative of Kiev’s intentions that are far from peaceful and causes concern, a senior official from east Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said on Thursday about Petro Poroshenko’s address to the parliament.
Denis Pushilin, the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic’s envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group that includes senior representatives from Ukraine, Russia and European security watchdog OSCE, said there was no alternative to peace accords signed in Minsk, Belarus, in February.
"We see that the president’s rhetoric does not suggest any peaceful solution. This gives us cause for concern and this is reflected in shelling of our territory, which is still continuing today along the entire line of contact also with the use of heavy weapons," Pushilin told Rossiya-24 television news channel.
Pushilin described as "populist" Poroshenko’s statements on Thursday regarding his plans for decentralization of power in Ukraine.
"He [Poroshenko] himself approved the Minsk complex of agreements," the official said, noting that the Ukrainian president’s remarks contradicted the deal. "But there are guarantor states and we hope they will manage to exert necessary pressure to achieve results," he added.
Self-government for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions is a key part of the peace agreements worked out by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in the Belarusian capital on February 12.
Vladimir Putin, Petro Poroshenko, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande announced after more than 16 hours of discussions that a ceasefire between Ukraine’s government forces and people’s militia would begin on February 15.
This was to be followed by withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of military engagement by at least 15 kilometers (9 miles), prisoner release and agreement for international observers to monitor the truce.
Based on September’s stillborn Minsk peace protocol, February’s deal also laid out a road map for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and constitutional reform aimed at decentralisation and ensuring "special status" for parts of the war-torn eastern regions.