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Kiev to address UNSC, Donbass if it wants to review accords, Russian official says

Dmitry Kozak reiterated the statements of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials on their desire to review the Minsk agreements

MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. Ukraine has to address the UN Security Council and conduct talks with Donbass representatives if it wants to review the Minsk accords, Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Staff Dmitry Kozak said in an interview with Russia-24 TV channel on Wednesday.

He reiterated the statements of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials on their desire to review the Minsk agreements. "Yet if this is your opinion, very well, make an official proposal," Kozak said.

"One has to go to the [UN] Security Council to initiate the review of the UN Security Council resolution. One has to go to Donbass, because, according to the Minsk agreements, the Donbass representatives are the second party that should be negotiated with, and, in order to review them (the Minsk agreements — TASS), one has to conduct a dialogue with them as well," the Russian official said.

Russia seeks maximum openness of Donbass talks

Kozak also said that "Russia seeks to ensure that the negotiations on the settlement in eastern Ukraine are as open as possible both at the Contact Group and in the Normandy Four format".

"We have long been trying to ensure that both the talks in the Contact Group and in the Normandy Four format had maximum openness so that the public, first and foremost Ukrainians, who are the main beneficiaries of these talks, alongside the people of Russia, Germany and France, who are also interested in having this issue resolved, are direct participants, that they are aware of the stances of all the countries," Kozak said. "We have not been able to break through this position yet.".

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