The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin doubts that a third world war could start because of Ukraine. He said this in an interview with RIA Novosti, published on Monday, May 3.
“The ever present situation cannot be called a dead end; it must end one day. How – we’ll see. I have very serious doubts that the third world war will start because of Ukraine, ”he said.
The head of the DPR believes that Ukraine is a bargaining chip, so it will be used as long as there is a resource.
Earlier on the same day, it was reported that Pushilin announced his readiness to discuss the situation in Donbass with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
He stressed that the DPR is open to dialogue and is interested in a peaceful settlement of the conflict. According to the head of the republic, the situation in recent months has shown the possibility of a “full-scale escalation” of the conflict in the region.
In Kiev, however, a meeting with representatives of the Donbass republics is rejected. At the same time, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed a desire to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On April 28, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the issue of resolving the conflict in Donbass cannot be resolved between Kiev and Moscow. He clarified that Russia is not a party to the conflict, but it is still necessary to look for common ground in this situation.
Since 2014, Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup in the country. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities blame Moscow for the current situation. The Russian Federation has repeatedly noted that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict, and called on Kiev to negotiate with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, implement the Minsk agreements and achieve de-escalation.