Kyiv refuses to discuss Donbas special status law amendments with DPR reps - DPR FM
DONETSK. Dec 19 (Interfax) - This year's final meeting of the political subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) in Minsk did not produce positive results, Foreign Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Natalia Nikonorova said in a statement.
"In the communique following the meeting of the leaders of the Normandy Four countries, the Ukrainian president confirmed a commitment to agree all legal aspects of the special status of Donbas with us. However, at this point we do not see the Ukrainian side treating this decision seriously. Even though the Ukrainian parliament did formally extend the first article of the Donbas special status law, steps to agree amendments to it with us are still absent," Nikonorova said.
Purely prolonging this regulatory and legal act is not enough, as certain amendments are required, including steps to incorporate the Steinmeier formula into it, remove preconditions that block the functioning of this law, and update its articles, she said. Furthermore, there is also a need to agree upon and adopt a number of other regulatory and legal acts that stem from the Donbas special status law.
"However, instead of starting to coordinate the full-fledged enactment of the Donbas special status law and the implementation of constitutional reform to make this special status permanent, the Ukrainian leadership has chosen to take unilateral steps. For instance, it is submitting constitutional draft amendments to parliament that totally contravene the Package of Measures. However, this draft was not even presented to us, let alone discussed with us," Nikonorova said.
She reiterated the importance of coordinating with the self-proclaimed republics all steps aimed at implementing the political points of the Package of Measures that prioritize granting special status to Donbas and incorporating it into the constitution.