"Discriminatory decisions": why Kiev and the republics of Donbass disagreed on the issue of mine clearance

Kiev and the people's republics assessed the situation with the negotiations on mine action on the line of contact differently.

As reported in the Office of the President of Ukraine, on September 2, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) "fully agreed on a framework decision that will become the basis for humanitarian demining work in the future."

According to Kiev, the parties agreed on 19 priority demining sites.

Another minefield near the village of Zolote (Luhansk region) will be eliminated due to the upcoming opening of an additional checkpoint of entry-exit (EECP) in this area.

“In addition, the TKG agreed in principle on four next areas for the disengagement of forces and equipment;

The security group was tasked with developing a detailed plan and finalizing a draft addendum to the Framework Decision of the Trilateral Contact Group on the disengagement of forces and assets of September 21, 2016, ”the website of the President of Ukraine says.

Meanwhile, Donetsk and Lugansk have denied the information disseminated by the Office of Volodymyr Zelensky.

As the plenipotentiary representative of the DPR in the TCG, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic Natalya Nikonorova, explained, no agreements were reached at the next meeting of the Contact Group.

“As we have repeatedly stated,

there is indeed a preliminary consensus between the parties

on these projects (demining and disengagement of forces. -

), but this is not identical with the final agreement and signing,” the DAN agency quotes Nikonorova.

According to the diplomat, the Office of the President of Ukraine has demonstrated "a simply staggering level of hypocrisy and complete isolation from reality."

In the RT commentary, the representative of the LPR in the political subgroup of the TCG, Rodion Miroshnik, confirmed the information that to date the parties have not agreed on any decisions.

He expressed extreme surprise at the message from the Office of the President of Ukraine about the allegedly reached agreements on mine action.

According to Miroshnik, all the issues that were discussed by the Contact Group on September 2, "rested" on the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada on local elections, which was adopted on July 15 this year.

From the point of view of Donetsk and Lugansk, the document contradicts the agreements of February 12, 2015.

“By adopting this document, the Ukrainian side cynically and officially violated the Minsk agreements.

No decisions within the TCG can be officially agreed upon until the Rada's resolution is amended in accordance with the Minsk agreements, ”Miroshnik stressed.

• Meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

• RIA News

It should be reminded that the parliamentary document contains a sequence of implementation of the provisions of the political part of the agreements that contradicts Minsk-2.

In particular, the Verkhovna Rada allowed to hold elections in the uncontrolled territories only after the transfer of full control over the border with the Russian Federation to the security forces.

At the same time, the agreements of February 12, 2015 emphasize the priority of holding voting in the DPR and LPR.

A similar procedure (local elections with the subsequent transfer of border control) is enshrined in the Steinmeier formula, which should be implemented in Ukrainian legislation.

Election factor

Earlier, the inadmissibility of the resolution of the Ukrainian parliament was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation with Vladimir Zelensky.

The Russian leader stressed that this document threatens the prospects for a settlement.

On September 2, in a commentary to reporters, the plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in the Contact Group Boris Gryzlov noted that Donetsk and Lugansk are ready to sign a demining plan and an agreement on the separation of forces on the contact line, but after amending the Verkhovna Rada's resolution of July 15.

“In conditions when the supreme legislative body of Ukraine demonstrates unwillingness to implement the Minsk agreements, the question arises about the possibility of Ukraine's practical implementation of any agreements reached.

To ensure such implementation, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine must reaffirm its adherence to the Minsk Agreements and introduce into the resolution a provision stating that elections in Donbass will be held in accordance with the Minsk Agreements, ”Gryzlov said.

In mid-August, the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG, Leonid Kravchuk, sent an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada to revise the July 15 resolution.

However, the Ukrainian parliament has not yet considered the amendments designed to harmonize the position of July 15 with Minsk-2 and the Steinmeier formula.

Experts interviewed by RT drew attention to another document regulating local elections scheduled for October 25 in the regions of Ukraine.

We are talking about the decision of the CEC of the country on August 8, according to which the residents of the districts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions controlled by Kiev were deprived of the right to vote.

"The list of such communities (who have lost the right to vote. -

) includes 10 rural, settlement, urban territorial communities of Bakhmutsky, Volnovakhsky, Mariupolsky and Pokrovsky districts of Donetsk region and 8 - Severodonetsk and Schastyensky districts of Luhansk region," the election commission said in a statement.

• Ukrainian armored personnel carrier near the contact line

• AFP

• © Sergey Volskii

As the head of the Ukrainian Politics Foundation, Konstantin Bondarenko, noted in an interview with RT, those surrounded by Zelensky are aware of the inevitable defeat of the so-called pro-Ukrainian parties in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including uncontrolled territories.

"Such openly discriminatory decisions are caused by the fact that the current Ukrainian authorities understand the inevitability of victory in elections to local councils exclusively for the opposition forces," Bondarenko stated.

"Serious violations"

Meanwhile, as Rodion Miroshnik said in an interview with RT, the issue of mine clearance in Donbass, which has stalled due to the Rada's resolution, is of great importance for resolving the conflict and ensuring the safety of the civilian population.

According to him, at present, most of the crossings across the line of contact and areas close to important from a military point of view objects have been mined.

“Those 19 sites, which were announced at the Office of the Applicant of Ukraine, have long been known and discussed.

This is not a new story, just now Ukraine really wants to hold a summit in the Normandy format.

Therefore, it is wishful thinking.

The demining plan has not been agreed or signed, ”Miroshnik stressed.

As Miroshnik explained, in addition to advances in the political settlement, the demining of territories requires security guarantees for the persons who will carry out this work.

Despite the comprehensive ceasefire in force since July 27, Kiev continues to arrange military provocations, the source told RT.

“Basically, the regime of silence is observed when we are talking about the use of weapons prohibited by Minsk-2, that is, heavy artillery, MLRS, mortars.

However, there are serious violations that are recorded by the observers of the SMM (Special Monitoring Mission. -

) of the OSCE, "Miroshnik said.

He said that Kiev is building fortifications that can be used during hostilities.

Also, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to use reconnaissance UAVs and keep armed formations in the demilitarized zones.

In particular, the Ukrainian security forces are still in Petrovsky and Zolote.

• An employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the LPR demines the area adjacent to the destroyed bridge near the checkpoint "Stanitsa Luganskaya"

• RIA News

Commenting on the situation, director of the Institute for Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology Denis Denisov said that the Office of the President of Ukraine is not ready to take drastic measures in the field of peaceful settlement of the conflict in the southeast of the country.

According to the expert, without fulfilling the political points of Minsk-2, it is impossible to fully ensure security in the region.

“The peculiarity of the Minsk agreements is that all the points fixed in them are linked to each other.

Therefore, the resolution of security issues is inseparable from the fulfillment of political conditions.

In this regard, measures to support the current ceasefire regime, in my opinion, are not working well.

Without the changes that Donetsk and Luhansk are talking about, the truce may end soon, ”Denisov predicts.