The Head of the Ukrainian Foreign Office suggested that Donbass be granted only those rights and authorities that could be granted to any other region of Ukraine. DPR plenipotentiary to the talks of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk and Foreign Affairs Minister Natalya Nikonorova commented on this statement.
“If Kiev wants so badly to channel the provisions of the Package of Measures to other territories, we have no objections, the main point is to clearly implement all those requirements enshrined in this international legal act. To do so, Mr. Pristayko should first of all stop pointing out to us the need to read the Minsk Agreements and do that himself. In particular, we advise him to focus on Paragraph 11, as well as the note to it, which clearly states: Ukraine should carry out a constitutional reform, which implies decentralization, taking into account the special status of Donbass, which should operate on a permanent basis, along with legislation on the prevention of the prosecution of the persons participating in the developments in Donbass, on the People’s Militia, on language self-determination, on transboundary cooperation, etc.
At the same time, the chief of Ukrainian diplomats should understand that it is an epitome of hypocrisy to state there is no difference between Donbass and other Ukrainian regions. Otherwise, a fair question arises: why hadn’t we heard such statements from the Ukrainian authorities before, when Kiev launched the “anti-terrorist operation” against civilians and deprived us of the right to life, health, secure environment, freedom of speech, freedom of movement and other fundamental human and civil rights?
We once again emphasize that it is not up to us to decide how the rest of the Ukrainian territories should live. But the obligations undertaken by Kiev regarding Donbass must be implemented in full compliance with the Minsk Agreements and, therefore, must be agreed with us,” Nikonorova stressed.