The meeting of the Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine ended in Minsk on Tuesday with important steps in the field of a political settlement of the conflict and in the issue of ensuring security in the region
MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd October, 2019) The meeting of the Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine ended in Minsk on Tuesday with important steps in the field of a political settlement of the conflict and in the issue of ensuring security in the region.The long-awaited confirmation of a peace plan called the "Steinmeier formula" and the agreed schedule for the separation of forces and assets of the conflicting parties along pilot stretches in Donbas pave the way for the summit of the Normandy Four France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine which, in turn, will give an impetus to the peace settlement in the region.
In September, political advisers to the leaders of the Normandy Four agreed on the text of a document regarding the implementation of the formula, a proposal made by former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in 2015, into Ukrainian legislation. The mechanism envisions holding local elections under the oversight of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which must confirm whether they met international standards. Upon confirmation, the legislation establishing the Donbas special status (de facto autonomy) would take effect.
It was expected that members of the Contact Group and representatives of the self-proclaimed republics of Donbas would sign this document at the last meeting in Minsk, but Kiev refused to sign it, despite the willingness of the other negotiators to agree on the initiative. At the same time, Ukrainian authorities said that the implementation of the plan was possible if only a range of conditions, including political ones, were fulfilled.
However, the Tuesday talks in the Belarusian capital were successful. All the negotiators confirmed the text of the "Steinmeier formula" by letters to Martin Sajdik, the special representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine. This was reported by Sajdik himself, as well as by official representatives of all parties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the outline should be implemented in the new law on the special status of Donbas. The Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada, will develop a replacement for the current one, which expires on December 31, 2019. According to the president, the law will come into effect after local elections are held in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in accordance with the Ukrainian constitution and legislation, and after the OSCE observers state in their report that the elections were democratic and in line with international standards.
"This [the signing of the 'formula'] is more of a symbolic step, the very first step that indicates the Ukrainian side's readiness to move forward with a political settlement. Therefore, for now, we cannot talk about the elections, the border, and the implementation of regulations of the special status," self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Foreign Minister and envoy to the Contact Group on Ukraine Natalia Nikonorova told journalists in Minsk.
In turn, Vladislav Deinego, the foreign minister of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), pointed out the need for developing Ukrainian legislation in accordance with the approved blueprint, in particular, it will require amendments to the Ukrainian constitution, the adoption of a special law on local elections and the finalization or repeal of a number of other acts.
Politicians and experts already called the signing of the initiative a breakthrough and a great success, and predicted that a peaceful settlement would move forward and ultimately lead to a de-escalation of the conflict.
However, there are also those who are unsatisfied. Former speaker of the Ukrainian parliament Andriy Parubiy called the agreement on Donbas "the dismantling of the Ukrainian state" and urged relevant parties to "prevent the surrender scenario." It is not surprising that people in the self-proclaimed republics are skeptical regarding the practical implementation of the "Steinmeier formula."
The chairman of the People's Council of the DPR, Vladimir Bidevka, said that he had "no faith in Ukrainian politicians" and the approval of the "formula" did not guarantee that Kiev would fulfill its obligations under the special status of Donbas.
On Tuesday, the Contact Group was able to determine a specific date for the resumption of the separation of forces and assets of the conflicting parties along pilot stretches in Petrivske and Zolote in Donbas � October 7.
Russia's envoy to the Contact Group, Boris Gryzlov, noted that "it was possible to synchronize security issues with political issues" with the approval of the corresponding schedule.
"These measures should further reduce the number of incidents involving the use of weapons and ensure the sustainable implementation of the ceasefire," Gryzlov said in Minsk.
In this regard, Zelenskyy noted that he really believed in this step. At the same time, he personally guaranteed that the local population would be protected and the separation of forces would not affect security in these settlements.
Nikonorova clarified that it was possible to get the Ukrainian side to agree on a work schedule for the separation of forces. She explained that Kiev representatives insisted that Luhansk should also be included in the document that was signed on Tuesday.
"But it was possible to agree that these are two different processes. Because it was the first separation in Stanytsia Luhanska, and Petrivske and Zolote are the areas where the separation has been held [earlier]. Now we need to completely eliminate the violations that were committed during these three years," she explained.
According to her, the Ukrainian side fulfilled all the conditions to unblock the summit between the leaders of the Normandy Four. The OSCE special representative stated that the approved measures for the separation of forces along with the confirmation by the parties of the "Steinmeier formula" were conditions set by the Normandy format.
"I hope that this Contact Group will facilitate further work within the Normandy format," the diplomat said.
In 2016, the Contact Group signed a framework agreement in Minsk on the separation of forces and weapons from the contact line in Donbas. The separation of forces in Petrivske and Zolote took place in 2016, and in Stanytsia Luhanska in June 2019. At the same time, the DPR and LPR have repeatedly stated that the Ukrainian security forces moved deep within the disengagement area in the Petrivske and Zolote districts, and insisted on parity restoration.
Meanwhile, another important issue remains unresolved: the parties failed to agree on Tuesday on the exchange of prisoners according to the "all-for-all" formula. The last exchange of prisoners between Kiev and Donbas took place at the end of December 2017. The parties to the conflict stated that the prisoner exchange process would continue.
Sajdik on Tuesday expressed hope that at the next meeting of the Contact Group, scheduled for October 15, the parties will be able to agree on the issue of the exchange. According to him, negotiators are "working very hard" in this direction. In the meantime, the diplomat said that the parties had continued discussions on the prisoner swap, and had talked about issues related to the search for missing persons.
Meanwhile, the DPR ombudswoman, Daria Morozova, said that, at the meeting in Minsk, Kiev representatives refused to guarantee that the persons to be exchanged would be pardoned and that criminal prosecution against them would be terminated.
"The Ukrainian side has come up with another way to block the exchange of detainees. Kiev representatives unilaterally developed questionnaires and verified persons to be exchanged," Morozova said in a statement.
According to her, this contradicts all of the agreements that were previously reached. Morozova noted that this procedure should be carried out directly during the exchange, since it was necessary "to personally verify that the persons, who are subject to an exchange, have really expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine." She also added that guarantees of legal "cleansing" for the persons to be exchanged were the DPR's main requirements, and should be met by Kiev.
Olga Kobtseva, the head of the LPR's working group on prisoner exchanges and the LPR's representative in the humanitarian working subgroup of the Contact Group said that the issues of procedural cleansing had not yet been resolved. She believes that Kiev's approach does not allow an agreement to be reached and for the implementation of an exchange according to the "all-for-all" formula.
"Over the past two weeks, Kiev has not taken a single step on this issue towards those people who could be freed, to be with their families. Instead, they are still forced to languish in jail, waiting for release," Kobtseva added.
In April 2014, the Ukrainian government launched an offensive against the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR, which claimed independence after what they considered to be a coup in Ukraine two months earlier. Fighting for the control of two breakaway provinces in Ukraine's east has killed around 13,000 people, according to the United Nations' latest estimates. Prospects for peace have been discussed in various forms, including during the meetings of the Contact Group in Minsk, which, since September 2014, has already adopted three documents regulating steps to de-escalate the conflict. Nevertheless, fighting in the region continues.
