In order for Kiev to fulfill the political part of the Minsk agreements, it is necessary to dissolve the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR. This was stated by Daria Olifer, press secretary of ex-president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, who represents Ukraine at the talks of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk.
Among the other conditions for the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements designated by it are the withdrawal from the country of “armed formations of foreign troops and military equipment; withdrawal of forces and assets along the entire line of contact; work support ”of the CEC of Ukraine, Ukrainian political parties, the media and foreign observers; establishing control over a section of the Russian-Ukrainian border that is not under Ukraine’s control and “fulfilling other points stipulated by Ukrainian and international legislation and the Minsk Agreements”.
In addition, the Ukrainian side insists that the Russian ruble be withdrawn from circulation in the DPR and LPR, and that Ukrainian enterprises nationalized in the self-proclaimed republics return to Ukrainian jurisdiction.
According to Olifer, Leonid Kuchma outlined these conditions at a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk.
The statement of the press secretary of the former Ukrainian president was sharply reacted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPR. The department’s Telegram channel emphasizes that the Ukrainian authorities are trying to replace the granting of special status to Donbass, which is provided for by Steinmeier’s formula, its own interpretation of the concept of decentralization.
“The Ukrainian side should be aware that only
the special status of Donbass, duly enshrined at the constitutional level, is the only way for a long-term peaceful settlement of the conflict, ”the DNR diplomatic agency emphasized.
"Thinking out loud"
The position indicated by Olifer contradicts the Minsk agreements, experts say. They draw attention to the fact that the abolition of unrecognized republics is not the basis of a dialogue on a peaceful settlement.
“The Minsk agreements are not about the liquidation of the DPR and LPR, but about a certain degree of autonomy of the Donbass. By and large, these agreements are a way to reconciliation within the framework of the already new Ukraine, which will build its relations with the regions on other principles, ”Bohdan Bezpalko, member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia, explained in an interview with RT.
Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin also believes that the statement by Daria Olifer is a step towards Kiev's withdrawal from the implementation of agreements in Minsk.
"There is nothing surprising. In practice, Kiev did not comply with the Minsk Agreement under Petro Poroshenko. He does not fulfill them now. Only one difference: under Zelensky they began to speak honestly and directly about this. Under Poroshenko, it was still pretending that Ukraine was really ready to follow the Minsk agreements, ”he noted in a commentary to RT.
- Protests in Kiev against the Steinmeier formula
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In turn, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Theory of MGIMO, Kirill Koktysh recalled that under the Minsk agreements there is a signature of representatives of the DPR and LPR. The very idea of dissolving the signatories of the agreements, in his expression, is "a little ridiculous." However, Koktysh admits that Kuchma and his spokesman in this case broadcast their own point of view, and not the position of official Kiev.
“Still, clarifications from Vladimir Zelensky are needed. It is not yet clear whether the Ukrainian authorities will annul the Minsk agreements with this statement, or the words Olifer are just thoughts out loud, ”Koktysh said in a conversation with RT.
Way of settlement
At the same time, experts admit that the statement made by Kuchma’s spokesman could be dictated by Ukraine’s desire to relieve itself of responsibility for not being able to achieve the Minsk agreements based on the Steinmeier formula.
“If Ukraine really wants to go along the path of settlement, it just needs to fulfill what has already been written in the Minsk agreements, and with all the deadlines, and what corresponds to the Steinmeier formula. So far, Kiev is not fulfilling the main thing: it does not cease fire and refuses to withdraw forces in the Donbass, while the DPR and LPR agree to withdraw troops, ”Bezpalko says.
Recall that earlier representatives of the self-proclaimed republics announced the disruption of the withdrawal of troops due to the fault of the Ukrainian side.
It is worth noting that Olifer’s statement was preceded by Zelensky’s words about the alternative plan that Kiev supposedly has in case of failure of negotiations in the Minsk format.
“We have plan B, I don’t want to talk about it now,” the Ukrainian president said during a press marathon.
However, some details of this “plan” were revealed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vadim Pristayko on October 14 in Brussels after a meeting of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee.
“For example, one of such ideas is to offer the world community to help us with a peacekeeping mission,” the Ukrainian minister said.
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At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine still hopes that it will be possible to achieve progress in the peace process within the framework of agreements in the Minsk and Norman formats.
Earlier, Priestayko stated that he was counting on holding a summit of the “Norman Four” (a meeting of the heads of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France to resolve the situation in eastern Ukraine. - RT ) in late October, the theme of which should be the implementation of the Minsk agreements. Russian President’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that preparations for the summit are underway, but found it difficult to identify specific dates for its holding.
Meanwhile, Bogdan Bezpalko doubts that the statement of Olifer can lead to a complete breakdown of negotiations in the Norman format. However, Kiev is quite capable of using it as an excuse to refuse to organize a summit.
“It just doesn't make sense to meet now. If it were possible to achieve the fulfillment of the Steinmeier formula or, say, agree on the dates of local elections in the Donbass, then the following measures could be discussed. Now what to discuss? Ukraine’s refusal to do what it agreed to do? The agenda of the summit disappears. But in general, the negotiation platform and the format itself remains, ”Bezpalko said.
In his opinion, a possible breakdown of the summit will lead to the fact that the West’s fatigue from the topic of resolving the situation in the Donbass will only increase.
“The problem is that this fatigue does not translate into any action. If Great Britain, France, Germany, the European Union as a whole had introduced some restrictions on Ukraine, then it would have been possible to force it to follow the path of observing the Minsk agreements and fulfilling the Steinmeier formula. However, this does not happen, ”the expert concluded.