Bezsmertny: Zelensky far too trusting of Putin, has no idea who he dealing with
Roman Bezsmertny, who was dismissed from the post of a representative Ukraine's representative in the working subgroup on political issues of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) to resolve the situation in the east of the country, has said that he takes well the decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to dismiss him from the post, but he said that the head of state has illusions of trusting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I was absolutely okey about this decision. He has the right, he made a decision," Bezsmertny said on the 24 TV channel on Tuesday, commenting on the decision on his dismissal.
However, he said that the head of state, employees of his office and deputies of the Servant of the People Party lack an understanding of the current situation and risks. "The current situation is very dangerous because of the desire - and I believe in Zelensky's honest desire to do better – he, unfortunately, is now being trapped. He simply does not understand who he is dealing with ... This is his conscious conviction that Putin in this situation may be some kind of ally," the diplomat said.
"The Servant of the People... has a desire to give answers to these difficult questions, but like in the President's Office and the president himself, there is neither knowledge nor understanding of the situation. I honestly acted as a person who tried to help... When I saw the president's position, where he said that the first and second should be done, and I told him honestly – I do not believe them, I know that they will not do this... I could not understand the actions of Petro Poroshenko when he called Merkel, I cannot understand the actions of Zelensky, who immediately calls Putin, because it is clear to me how to act in one situation or other," Bezsmertny said.
Asked about the possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron in a week and about the arrangements for the date of the meeting of the Normandy Four, Bezsmertny said: "I think that around this date ... not only Macron will meet Putin in southern France... but also President of France and President of Ukraine will meet."
In his opinion, consultations with U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker will also take place there, and consultations can also be held with "certain representatives of Germany," and "now the possibility of expanding the Normandy format is being discussed."
According to him, the reason for his dismissal was his public position. "And this position is not only on issues... of tactics of actions on the contact line, tactics of actions in the negotiating group," the diplomat said, explaining that he worked with five heads of state and the reason for his behavior was that he wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes made by his predecessors.
"It is obvious that my position is welcomed now, but it is the president's right to appoint, dismiss," he said.
Bezsmertny said that he would try to transfer his knowledge to other participants in the Minsk process. "I love Ukraine, and therefore I will do everything possible to ensure that the issue is resolved," he said.
The diplomat said that over the past two months he had prepared a draft decree, "which provided for the normalization of the work of the delegation and prepared a bill that laid down a completely different model for achieving peace in this war. And I was to introduce it the other day," Bezsmertny said, adding that he will not do this, since earlier his ideas were discredited.