Oleksandr Kikhtenko, the newly-appointed head of Donetsk Regional Administration, says he is prepared for negotiations with representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
‘I will negotiate with them. If these negotiations are constructive, I am prepared for such negotiations. There are too many issues today (…) which can hardly be separated into the DPR representatives’ and our area of responsibility. These are very different matters, including those concerning education, healthcare, social protection and so on. We can’t abandon our people there and forget that we are responsible for their social protection,’ Kikhtenko said at a press conference in Sviatohirsk, Donetsk region, on Saturday.
He said he was ready ‘to address such matters reciprocally’ at negotiations with DPR representatives.
‘But time will show whether these negotiations are efficient or not,’ he added.
A decision on the regional administration’s provisional location will be made within days, Kikhtenko said. ‘I clearly understand that the regional administration should be at one place and that it should work efficiently. Where it is going to be – in Mariupol, Kramatorsk, or another city – will be known literally within ten days. For the time being, my working place is Kramatorsk. I will be staying in Kramatorsk,’ Kikhtenko said.
Meanwhile, the DPR leadership sees no sense in negotiations with Kikhtenko.
‘Any negotiations are possible only via mediators. There is a contact group format, within the framework of which we are holding consultations on the most relevant matters. We don’t consider any other format so far,’ DPR First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Purhin told Interfax earlier on Saturday.
;I can’t imagine in what capacity Oleksandr Kikhtenko could act at these consultations, and what’s more, it’s also unclear what result could be achieved if he participates in consultations. Therefore, we don’t see any sense in a dialogue with him, not to mention that we aren’t going to initiate this ourselves,’ Purhin said.
‘Theoretically, the matter could concern contacts related to economic interaction,’ he said.
‘Such contacts are definitely possible, but only via mediators,’ Purhin said.
