Ukrianian insurgents urges Kiev to appoint official representative for talks

The next round of Minsk negotiations would not take place until Kiev appoints an official representative, Ukrainian insurgent leader Alexander Zakharchenko said Monday.

"Until Kiev appoints its official representative, there will be no more talks in the Minsk format. (Former Ukrainian President) Leonid Kuchma is just a private representative," Zakharchenko told reporters.

Zakharchenko accused the Kiev government forces of opening fire on residential areas, saying that this action aimed to force the self-claimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics (DPR and LPR) to sign unfair agreements at the Minsk meetings.

The latest round of peace talks on the Ukrainian crisis ended Saturday in the Belarussian capital of Minsk without an agreement.

Representatives of the eastern rebels said Saturday that the status of Kiev's negotiator was insufficient for them to sign a final deal, while Kiev's delegate claimed that the government side would not accept any preconditions.

Zakharchenko added that a general military mobilization is planned to take place in 10 days, as up to 100,000 people will be mobilized upon a voluntary basis.

"The joint army of the DPR and the LPR will be 100,000 strong... The recruitment of volunteers will begin next week," the Interfax news agency quoted Zakharchenko as saying.

Meanwhile, Zakharchenko confirmed plans to resume prisoners of war exchange, but stressed that only military men, not political activists, should be handed over by Kiev to the militia.

The latest round of battles between Ukraine's eastern insurgents and government forces has brought the death toll to more than 5,000, according to the United Nations. Endi