The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group Leonid Kravchuk urged the authorized representative of the Russian Federation Boris Gryzlov not to block the negotiation process in the TCG and not to issue ultimatums to Ukraine, the press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine reported.

"Do not block the negotiation process and focus on the issues in the solution of which the citizens of Ukraine are interested," Kravchuk urged Gryzlov at the beginning of the meeting, at which the discussion of procedural issues lasted for about four hours, which did not allow to immediately proceed to the consideration of the issues on the meeting agenda.

According to Kravchuk, "the parties should work on the implementation of decisions of the Normandy format heads of state, reached during the Paris summit, bringing the peace that people want so much."

Kravchuk, in particular, said that the Ukrainian delegation is ready for constructive work on solving issues on the agenda of the TCG.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation urged not to create "stumbling blocks", but to move forward, focusing on strengthening the ceasefire, releasing the persons held by the parties, and solving problems that ordinary people are interested in.

Addressing Gryzlov, Kravchuk said: "Do not put forward ultimatums to us. We are not in the USSR or under the Kremlin. Ukraine is an independent state that will not allow any conditions to be dictated to it."

The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG also thanked the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office in Ukraine and the TCG Heidi Grau for the efforts that the OSCE is making to achieve peace and restore the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.