At the meeting of the political group, the Ukrainian party once again sabotaged the negotiation of the agenda items, the DPR MFA reports.

“Despite the fact that Ukraine has reshuffled its negotiators in the political group, we still listen to the same hackneyed attempts distorting the essence of the Complex of Measures, particularly the mechanism of political settlement laid down in it.

The Ukrainian party is most actively trying to promote the idea that the political part of the Minsk Agreements is supposedly based on local elections. This fundamentally contradicts not only the essence of the Complex of Measures, but also the causes of the conflict in Donbass. The main purpose of the political section of the Minsk Agreements is to enshrine the special status of Donbass legally and permanently, whose all legal aspects should be negotiated with representatives of the republics,” Natalya Nikonorova noted.

The Foreign Ministry reminded Kiev they are to submit for the Contact Group’s consideration a number of draft regulations, including the law on the special status of Donbass with the wording of Steinmeier’s formula implemented into it and other necessary changes, as well as draft amendments to the Constitution, which should enshrine the special status on a permanent basis.

“To intensify the work on the political section of the Complex of Measures, the republics once again gave Ukraine’s representatives our vision of the act amending the law on the special status of Donbass. Nevertheless, Kiev has not yet taken the time to look at this document and give its comments, claiming there is no need to negotiate the whole law, only the implementation of Steinmeier’s formula.

Representatives of Ukraine promised to express their position once the republics called on them to reread the communiqué of the Normandy Four’s summit, which clearly states the need to negotiate with representatives of the republics all legal aspects of the special status of Donbass. However, we insist that Kiev provide its written positions.

It is high time Ukraine quitted discoursing and started fulfilling the Complex of Measures, as well as the instructions given in the Normandy format, in a substantial manner,” the DPR plenipotentiary stressed.