According to a DM source, he will accept the offer, subject to the release of Witold Fokin.

Diplomat Markiyan Lubkivsky told Media Detector that he had received an offer to join the Ukrainian delegation to the Tripartite Contact Group for the Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Eastern Ukraine from the head of the delegation to the TCG Leonid Kravchuk and the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Asked whether he was being considered as the speaker of the delegation at the TCG, he replied: “ Indeed, I received such a position from the head of the Ukrainian delegation in the Tripartite Contact Group, Leonid Kravchuk, and from the President’s Office. This proposal was justified by my experience in diplomatic and security work. In particular, in the “hot spots”: first in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and then in the Republic of Croatia. I am currently studying the proposal itself and will finally decide in the near future. “

Mr. Lubkivsky added that he could be considered for another position. He is currently discussing the possibility of joining the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG with Leonid Kravchuk and Deputy Prime Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov . 

” My functionality is still in the process of discussion. It is about my involvement in the work of the Ukrainian delegation in the Tripartite Contact Group. What function it will be – speakers or another – is still in the process of discussion , “he said.

The diplomat added that he had already had several meetings with people’s deputies and promised to announce his decision in the coming days.

” I am determined in this situation. In the next few days, I think I will decide and decide. There are certain “red lines” that are fundamental to me. It is important to me that these “red lines” coincide with the “red lines” of the members of the Ukrainian delegation in the Tripartite Contact Group , “he explained.

According to a Media Detector source, Mr. Lubkivsky will agree to join the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG, subject to the dismissal of Vitold Fokin, the first deputy head of the TCG delegation . It should be noted that on September 30, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky removed Vitold Fokin from the Ukrainian delegation and relieved him of his duties as First Deputy Chairman of the delegation.

In addition, according to Markiyan Lubkivsky, it was decided to introduce the post of speaker due to the imbalance in commenting and information support of the work of the Ukrainian delegation in the Tripartite Contact Group.

According to the DM, on September 14 Deputy Prime Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said  that the Ukrainian delegation to the Tripartite Contact Group for the Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Eastern Ukraine will have a speaker responsible for working with the media and covering the position of the delegation. 

On September 30, a Media Detector source said that the candidacy of diplomat Markiyan Lubkivsky was being considered for the post of speaker of the Ukrainian delegation in the Tripartite Contact Group for the Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Eastern Ukraine . According to another DM source, Mr. Lubkivsky will agree to the post, subject to the dismissal of Vitold Fokin, the first deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG. It was decided to introduce the position of the press secretary of the delegation in the TCG, in particular, after the scandals surrounding Mr. Fokin’s statements.

In addition, the participant of the talks Serhiy Garmash said that the official position of the Ukrainian delegation in the TCG will be expressed only by the speaker, all others will be forbidden to comment on the talks.

It will be recalled that on March 11, 2020, at a regular meeting of the Tripartite Contact Group for the Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Donbass in Minsk, the parties agreed to establish an Advisory Council, which was to include representatives of certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

A number of NGOs opposed Ukraine’s direct dialogue with ORDLO representatives . Some deputies from the Servant of the People faction signed  an open appeal regarding the inadmissibility of recognizing the militants as a party to the talks .

On June 9, 2020, journalists Denys Kazansky and Serhiy Garmash  took part in consultations in the working group on political issues of the Tripartite Contact Group (TCG) on the peaceful settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine . They were involved in consultations as representatives of certain districts of Donetsk region. Luhansk region was represented by a lawyer, chairman of the International Public Organization “Luhansk Fellowship” Vadym Goran and a famous doctor Konstantin Liebster. Denis Kazansky and Serhiy Garmash stressed that the Advisory Council, which was previously planned to be set up and opposed by civil society , was no longer in question.

(c) Detektor Media