Medvedchuk says wasn't appointed Kyiv's negotiator with Moscow just to be fired

 The head of the political council of the Opposition Platform-For Life party, Viktor Medvedchuk, said that he was involved in Donbas negotiations merely at the request of Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, was not an appointed negotiator and so cannot be removed from talks.

"For the record, Zelensky's payroll scenarists: Petro Poroshenko has never appointed Viktor Medvedchuk for the role of 'negotiator' with Russia. I was involved in talks between Ukraine and Russia solely at the request of the president of Ukraine, and did so in the interests of my country and not its president. So, removing me from 'negotiations' is not possible a priori," Medvedchuk said in a statement posted on his party's website on Wednesday.

He noted that he was involved in such talks in his capacity as head of his party's political council.

"I have been doing and will continue to do this because I am convinced that it is impossible to install peace in Ukraine without direct talks with the leaderships of Donetsk, Luhansk and Russia. I am convinced that it is not possible to develop Ukraine's economy unless trade and economic ties with Russia and [other] CIS countries are restored. And in order to engage in this, I have not needed and do not need any licenses, permissions or blessings either from the incumbent or a president-elect."

Medvedchuk was involved in talks over Donbas prisoner exchanges.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian media reported that if elected, Zelensky would hold talks with Russia and international partners but would not hold direct talks with the breakaway republics and that he was also planning to refuse Medvedchuk's services as an intermediary in interactions between Ukraine and Russia.