Ukraine's Kuleba Says Inclusion Of Donbas Special Status In Basic Law Unacceptable

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2020) Kiev is ready to consider increasing the powers of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, referred to together as Donbas, but the inclusion of their status in the constitution is unacceptable, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday.

The law on the special status of Donbas was passed by the Ukrainian parliament in 2014 but never implemented. At the end of 2019, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law that extends the status until December 31, 2020. The document says that the special status for the region will come into force after a number of conditions have been met, in particular the withdrawal of illegal units from these territories.

"Our position is very simple: for several years now, we have been implementing a profound reform of decentralization in the country, as part of which legislative acts are being adopted, and constitutional amendments are being introduced. And it is within the framework of this process that we can consider the powers of the currently occupied separate regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. As for the mentioning of the so-called separate districts of Donetsk and Lugansk regions in the constitution, this is unacceptable for us, and we openly talk about it with our partners," Kuleba said in an interview with Ukraine's Segodnya tv channel.

Commenting on a publication by the Spiegel magazine in early June that cited an unofficial working paper of the Russian delegation at the negotiations of the Normandy Four political advisers in Berlin, alleging Moscow was demanding that Kiev submit draft amendments to the Ukrainian constitution to the Minsk contact group by July 6, the minister said that no country, including Russia, could issue ultimatums to Kiev. Kuleba added that Kiev respected its international commitments but was guided, first of all, by the interests of the country.

In addition, the diplomat told the TV channel that the absence of the US special envoy for Ukraine did not mean that Washington stepped aside from settling the conflict in the Donbas region. The previous envoy, Kurt Walker, resigned in late September after he was mentioned in media in connection with the complaint that initiated the investigation of the Democrats and impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump.

"We all see what is happening with the US. The country is in turbulence, which is associated with the approach of elections, with certain internal political processes. We respect what is happening with our partners. We are confident that the US democracy is strong enough to find effective solutions to these problems, and are always ready for dialogue," Kuleba said when asked about the timing of a possible visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the US.

The diplomat also said the Kiev expected the US, the European Union and the UK to participate in the creation of the international platform "for the de-occupation of Crimea," adding that Russia would not join the initiative.

"We hope that the EU, as an organization, will take an active part in the creation and functioning of this format. We know that the EU has many opportunities for this, it only needs political will. The US and the UK, a country that has left the EU but remains a very important partner and influential international player for us. Basically, the format will be open," the minister added.

According to Kuleba, the platform will carry out three functions. The first is to help Ukraine keep the Crimea issue among the priorities of the international agenda. Secondly, the platform will allow Kiev to coordinate the efforts of the maximum number of participants to ensure a policy of non-recognition of Crimea and sanctions against Russia. And the third is the protection of human rights in Crimea.

The Crimean Peninsula rejoined Russia after nearly 97 percent of voters supported the move in a March 2014 referendum, following a power change in Ukraine. Kiev insists that the territory was illegally seized from it by Russia, something that Moscow strongly denies.