Ukraine welcomes the proposal to hold the second round of negotiations in the format of the Geneva dialogue, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported. "Ukraine is open to dialogue, which could contribute to de-escalating the situation in southeastern regions, especially in terms of the creation of proper conditions for holding early presidential elections on May 25," deputy director of the ministry's information policy department, Vasyl Zvarych, told Interfax-Ukraine.
He noted that all parties to the Geneva statement, primarily Russia, must responsibly fulfill the provisions of this document, the implementation of which is the foundation that will help ensure the process of de-escalation of the situation.
“One of the priorities in this regard should be unquestionable and unconditional support by the parties to the Geneva statement for the holding of the May 25 snap presidential elections as an important factor to normalize the situation in Ukraine,” Zvarych said.
While commenting on Russia’s position with respect to the participation in such negotiations of a representative of southeastern Ukraine, he said that the Geneva format had already been determined, so he does think it is expedient to change it.
According to him, Kyiv proceeds from the fact that Ukraine has a legitimate government representing the interests of all the Ukrainian regions, including southeastern ones.
Diplomat has also noted that the proposal to hold the second round of negotiations in the Geneva format is still at the consideration phase, thus it’s too early to talk about the specific date to conduct the talks.
