President's Office Head Andriy Yermak has called the letter of the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia Dmitry Kozak about the futility of further negotiations between the advisors to the leaders of the Normandy Four (Germany, Russia, Ukraine, France) as a manifestation of a diplomatic game and indicated that the negotiation process continues.

In a comment to the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday, he noted that the negotiation process on the Donbas issue is not easy, complex, viscous, but today it has been qualitatively reformatted, and Ukraine has taken a proactive and tougher position.

"We need to clearly understand the motivation of all parties. Understand the potential risks of any initiative and the fact that circumstances are constantly changing. You also need to understand that the negotiation process has its own characteristics. It is especially difficult today, when Ukraine has taken a proactive stance. And the letter of Mr. Kozak, in my opinion, is rather about a subtle diplomatic game, when one of the parties to the negotiations wants to strengthen its positions and seize the initiative," Yermak said.

According to him, there is no point in talking about the termination of negotiations.

"Work continues," Yermak said.

Yermak pointed out that today is the fourth day of ceasefire in Donbas, and this is a direct result of the work of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk and the Normandy format.

"This just testifies to the great efficiency of the negotiations, despite all the difficulties that arise during process," he said.

He said the Ukrainian side is in dialogue and strives for a result.

"The degree of negotiations can rise or fall, this is normal, this is diplomacy. And this is negotiation psychology. You need to understand this and calmly treat such letters and their interpretations," he said.