KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd October, 2019) Ukraine's Opposition Platform - For Life party has praised the agreement on the "Steinmeier formula" peace plan as a demonstration of political will and determination to resolve the conflict in southeastern Ukraine (Donbas).
On Tuesday, representatives of the Contact Group on Ukraine met in the Belarusian capital of Minsk and signed an agreement on a peace plan called "the Steinmeier formula." The plan, proposed by then German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in 2016, stipulates that the parties involved in the Donbas conflict should arrange free and fair local elections in the southeast and a new law must be passed granting them special status.
"The agreement on the 'Steinmeier formula' for the resolution of the conflict is a big step toward peace and a demonstration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's determination to stop the bloody conflict in Donbas," the Opposition Platform - For Life party said on its official Facebook account.
The party called on all political forces in Ukraine and all lawmakers to support the renewed efforts to resolve the Donbas conflict.
The Opposition Platform stressed that Ukraine had been waiting for a Steinmeier formula agreement since 2016, but "could not get it because of irresponsibility and political egoism of Ukraine's past leadership."
The party expressed hope that the new agreement will pave the way for more deals on other related issues, currently under discussion.
"We look forward to maintaining the focus on the results in the work of the Trilateral Contact Group and within the framework of the Normandy format," the Opposition Platform said in its statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday that a new law on the special status of Donbas would be prepared soon and that it would come into effect provided that local elections are held in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Foreign Minister and envoy to the Contact Group on Ukraine Natalia Nikonorova said on Tuesday that more agreements on the separation of forces in Donbas were expected in the near future.
