Even Russian-speaking residents of Donbass, ethnic Russians, want the Donbass to be returned to Ukraine. This was said by U. S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker in an interview with Voice of America.
He noted that such a desire was expressed by all the people with whom he communicated during his visit to the Donbass. According to Volker, the Donbass residents are constantly experiencing stress and pressure, what is very exhausting.
"It's interesting that all of them (the people with whom Volker spoke – ed.) communicated in Russian, apparently, they are ethnic Russians. They all live here and say that the most important thing is peace, and that the territory must be returned to Ukraine. When we hear from the Russian authorities that the Russian-speaking population is against Ukraine, they feel threatened that this is an ethnic conflict, it is obviously a lie", - Volker said.
According to him, the OSCE representatives are also experiencing stress, in particular because since February, it is difficult for them to gain access to the Russian-Ukrainian international border. The OSCE representatives suggest that Russia has something to hide, if it does not allow them.
"The Russians are trying to force Ukrainians and international community to communicate with the puppet regimes – the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. But they (the "DNR" and "LNR" – ed.) do not really have control (over this territory – ed.), and therefore, you need to speak with the Russians to be able to communicate effectively about such things", - Volker said.
As previously reported, Kurt Volker arrived in the Donbass on May 14.