MINSK, 2 October (BelTA) – It is yet unclear who will replace Leonid Kuchma as the head of the Ukrainian delegation in the trilateral contact group on Ukraine in Minsk, BelTA learned from the OSCE's special representative in the trilateral contact group on Ukraine Martin Sajdik.
2 October was the last time Leonid Kuchma headed the Ukrainian delegation in the trilateral contact group on Ukraine in Minsk. Martin Sajdik said: “Working with him was a great honor and a great pleasure for all of us. On behalf of all participants of the trilateral contact group and myself I would like to offer sincere gratitude to Leonid Kuchma for his invaluable contribution to our work. I personally have learned a lot from this wise politician, who is devoted to his country.” Martin Sajdik went on saying that the trilateral contact group on Ukraine will reconvene on 16 October.
Asked who will fill Leonid Kuchma's shoes, Martin Sajdik said that nothing official was said on 2 October. In his opinion, the replacement of Ukraine's representative should not affect the negotiations, someone will have to lead the Ukrainian delegation during the next meeting. Martin Sajdik noted that Ruslan Demchenko always accompanied Leonid Kuchma.
BelTA reported earlier that Leonid Kuchma, the second Ukrainian president and a signatory of the Minsk agreements, filed his resignation as Ukraine's plenipotentiary representative in the trilateral contact group on resolving the situation in the Donbass area on 28 September. His age and the willingness to give other people an opportunity to do the job were quoted as the reasons.
