Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Reznikov met with Vukovar-Srijem County prefect Bozo Galic in Vukovar on Tuesday for talks on Croatia's experience with peaceful reintegration, saying some of it would be used in Ukraine, although the model would be different.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Reznikov met with Vukovar-Srijem County prefect Bozo Galic in Vukovar on Tuesday for talks on Croatia’s experience with peaceful reintegration, saying some of it would be used in Ukraine, although the model would be different.
“I’m grateful to your prefect for receiving us because today we didn’t hear theory but how the peaceful reintegration process in this area actually unfolded. We recorded some of the conclusions and will certainly use them in our experience in Ukraine,” said Reznikov, who is also minister for reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
He said he concluded from the talks that the key task during the peaceful reintegration was to restore trust and that local politicians played an important part in that.
“Croatia’s experience says that mayors and municipal heads need to be prepared so that they are ready for the time of return. When that time came, with return and reconstruction as the goal, they already knew what had to be done. That’s my conclusion, that the reconstruction of everything the common people need is a prerequisite for any return,” said Reznikov.
He said Ukraine appreciated very much Croatia’s official stand on the importance of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told him yesterday that Croatia supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity and offered Croatia’s experience in the peaceful reintegration of the Danube River Region.
“Croatia’s willingness to relay to Ukraine its experience with the peaceful reintegration of the Danube region, which was successfully completed on 15 January 1998, was again reiterated at the meeting,” the Croatian government said in a press release yesterday.
Plenkovic has said a number of times that Croatia is willing to help Ukraine with its experience in peaceful reintegration.
Reznikov said three groups were negotiating in Ukraine – Ukraine, Russia and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe – with the aim to achieve what was envisaged by the Minsk agreements.
“Unfortunately, the deadlines mentioned in the Minsk agreements have long expired and I am convinced that the Minsk agreements are subject to revision and modernisation, but they can be modernised only with the consent of the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia,” he said.
Reznikov said that since July 27 there had been a ceasefire in Ukraine for the first time in six years.
“It gives a feeling of defused tensions and the possibility of further dialogue. There have also been several stages of releasing prisoners. Two new crossing points are to be opened. Living in occupied areas are Ukrainian citizens whom we consider prisoners of that regime and they must be allowed to cross to Ukrainian territory, get pensions and communicate with Ukraine.”
Reznikov said there was a tendency on Russia’s side to slow down that process.
Negotiations have not been held in Minsk since March, taking place online, and now a new problem will appear given the situation in Belarus.