A new round of consultations between the Kiev authorities and their armed opponents in southeastern Ukraine is possible, despite the recent escalation of hostilities in Donbass, but these consultations can be held only through mediators, Andrei Purgin, the first deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), told Interfax on Saturday.
"Despite a new cycle of confrontation and the militia's withdrawal from Slovyansk, consultations on settling the situation in eastern Ukraine are possible," Purgin said, adding that such consultations are possible only through mediators, i.e. Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
A source from the DPR leadership aware of details of the negotiating process confirmed to Interfax that "the time and venue of another session of the contact group are under consideration now."
"There is consent to take part in consultations in principle," he said.
All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.