New round of peace talks on Ukraine crisis ends without deal

A woman looks out of the window of a residential block damaged by a shelling in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, February 1, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

MINSK - The latest round of peace talks on Ukraine crisis on Saturday ended in the Belarusian capital of Minsk without an agreement.

Present at the negotiations of the Trilateral Contact Group in the day were former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, representatives of the self-claimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics (DPR and LPR) in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, as well as the special delegate of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Heidi Tagliavini.

The Ukrainian side blamed the delegates from the east regions for the failure of yielding any productive outcome of the meeting.

"Today's consultations under the plan for the implementation of the Minsk agreements have been aborted due to the absence of Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky (leaders of the two self-claimed republics), to ultimatums from their representatives Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego, and to their refusal to discuss the plan of measures for an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of heavy armaments," Kuchma was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Pushilin, the DPR envoy accused Kiev of showing little respect to others.

"Talks imply a dialogue. But Ukraine is ready to hear only itself and defend its own interests," he said.