Zakharchenko: The ideal option for a peaceful resolution with Ukraine is independence for the DPR
In an interview with NTV, Alexander Zakharchenko, the head of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), has said he is not satisfied with a new law on the reintegration of the Donbas that is being prepared by the Ukrainian government.
"The ideal option for a peaceful resolution is [for us] to gain independence, and for Kyiv to recognize it. Thus we would be able to decide for ourselves who we want to live with, how we want to live, with whom we will be friends, [and] which state to join," he said.
Zakharchenko's position on the introduction of UN peacekeepers is as follows: "They imply one option [the introduction of peacekeepers, similar to that what happened in] Kosovo and Croatia; [while] we mean the following option: protection for the OSCE mission. This should be an indirect peacekeeping mission. We are ready to discuss the location of the mission with Kyiv under these conditions."
The head of the DPR also once again accused the Ukrainian side of unwillingness to implement the Minsk agreements.
"Kyiv is preparing for war…[it] wishes and sees in its best dreams how to leave these Minsk agreements," he said.