Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on Wednesday, removing Vitold Fokin, the first deputy chairman of the country's delegation, from the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Donbas, the presidential office said
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th September, 2020) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on Wednesday, removing Vitold Fokin, the first deputy chairman of the country's delegation, from the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Donbas, the presidential office said.
The decision comes following Fokin's August 29 interview with the Ukrainian Strana.ua news portal, in which the politician claimed that the adoption of a special status for the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics, "could not but lead" to peace. He also expressed his support for a general amnesty. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has called Fokin's statements provocative, while the president's office said that this was his personal opinion and did not represent the official position of Ukraine.
"Zelenskyy signed a decree on the participation of the Ukrainian delegation in the Trilateral Contact Group. According to this document, Vitold Fokin is officially removed from the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG and relieved of his duties as the first deputy head of the delegation," Zelenskyy's press service said.
The Ukrainian leader believes that Fokin deviated "from a fair assessment of Russia's temporary occupation of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions." According to Zelenskyy, state officials are obliged to serve the interests of the Ukrainian people.
Fokin, who was the first Ukrainian prime minister from October 1990 - October 1992, was appointed as the first deputy head of the delegation to the TCG on August 18.
The Donbas conflict ignited in 2014 when the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against Donetsk and Luhansk, which refused to recognize the new government in Kiev that came to power after what the breakaway region considered to be a coup.
On February 27, 2014, the legislature of Crimea announced holding a referendum on the status of the peninsula. According to the results of the vote held on March 16 of that year, Crimeans overwhelmingly decided to rejoin Russia, although Western countries and Kiev have yet to recognize the legitimacy of the move. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the referendum was held in accordance with all international norms and the issue of the peninsula's territorial belonging is "historically closed."
