Shortly before, Ukraine’s president Vladimir Zelensky submitted for the parliament’s consideration a draft law on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine regarding the decentralization of power, Foreign Minister Natalya Nikonorova commented on this fact.
“In view of Ukraine’s continuing attempts to evade its direct obligations under the Complex of Measures and unilaterally amend the Constitution, we have to remind Kiev once again that the cornerstone of the peaceful settlement of the conflict remains the granting of the special status to Donbass, agreeing on all its legal aspects with the representatives of the republics and its enshrinement in the constitution of the Ukrainian state. Their attempts to substitute this key condition with some alternative projects are a deviation from the agreements reached in Minsk and the commitments that the Ukrainian president affirmed in the communique following the Normandy Four’s meeting in Paris.
We do not accept the unilateral decentralization that Kiev is trying to carry out, and we strongly recommend that they stop substituting the provisions of the Complex of Measures over and over again. Kiev should finally realize that the special status is not a trade-off, it is a fundamental condition for our future peaceful coexistence. Any unilateral and nonagreed amendments to the Constitution cannot be recognized as the implementation of the Complex of Measures and constitute an overt and gross violation of the agreements. We expect that by the time the Contact Group meets again in Minsk, we will have been able to begin constructive work to agree on all amendments to the Ukrainian legislation concerning the fate of millions of residents of Donbass,” Natalya Nikonorova said.