Events

MINSK, 8 August (BelTA) – We support the proposal to hold a meeting of the Presidents of Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, and also Ukraine, the leaders of the communist parties of Russia and Ukraine, Gennady Zyuganov and Piotr Simonenko, told reporters in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

Piotr Simonenko said that Minsk has already been used as a platform for the settlement of the conflict in the east of Ukraine: it recently hosted a meeting of the tripartite contact group Ukraine-OSCE-Russia. The leaders of the communist parties of Russia and Ukraine met with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko today. "The President said that there might be a meeting in the “3+1” format. Ukrainian President Piotr Poroshenko will be invited to join the dialogue with the Presidents of the Customs Union countries,” said Piotr Simonenko. He expressed the hope for a positive outcome of the meeting and said he would like Minsk to host the negotiation process.

After the meeting with the Belarusian leader and the discussion of the Ukrainian crisis Piotr Simonenko said that the leaders of such a level always take the right decision. "Alexander Grigoryevich has repeatedly emphasized that the world has changed a lot. Today dialogue, ability to listen to and hear people are important. The President said he is against separatism as a mechanism to pursue political ambitions, and the Communist Party of Ukraine shares this position. We must exclude the possibility of such trends. We should work to address the issues effectively and in the interests of Ukrainian citizens rather than escalate tensions in society,” Piotr Simonenko said.

For his part, Gennady Zyuganov noted that for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis it is essential to use influence and authority. "Alexander Grigoryevich is a highly respected politician in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. His opinion matters. I think that he has recently done many things in order to stop these events," said the leader of the Communist Party of Russia.