The head of the Ukrainian president's office, Andriy Yermak, said that the Ukrainian delegation did not undertake any obligations regarding a possible revision of the provisions of the current Rada resolution on holding local elections in Donbass.

“There were no obligations on the Ukrainian side to revise the resolutions of the Verkhovna Rada, and this is impossible, because we cannot interfere in the activities of the Ukrainian parliament,” Yermak stressed, speaking on the air of the Ukraine TV channel.

According to the head of the presidential office, the Ukrainian side only announced during the meeting of advisers in the Normandy format that on July 28, a draft resolution on amendments to the parliamentary resolution was registered in the Rada.

The draft document was introduced by the Servant of the People faction.

  • Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak

  • © Press service of the President of Ukraine

“This resolution exists today, and it will soon be submitted to the hall of the Verkhovna Rada, where its fate as a legal document will be decided,” Yermak added.

In addition, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine believes that the interaction of the Minsk and Normandy formats to resolve the situation in Donbass is reaching a new level, since for the first time in a long time, representatives of the OSCE were present at the meeting of advisers in Berlin.

“This means that interaction and coordinated work of the two formats has reached an even higher level.

And we expect concrete results from this next week on September 15, when there will be a video conference, ”RBC-Ukraine quotes Yermak as saying.

Political paradox

Let us remind you that the negotiations of the political advisers of the heads of state and government of the Normandy format countries on the Ukrainian settlement took place in Berlin on September 11.

After the talks, one of the members of the Ukrainian delegation, Andriy Kostin, said that the Ukrainian parliament would consider amending the resolution on local elections, designed to bring the document in line with the Minsk agreements.

Changes may affect paragraph 4 of the resolution, the proposed version is already "fully consistent with the Minsk package of measures", explained Kostin.

The draft resolution was submitted to the Rada on July 28, he added.

Commenting on the September 11 results of the talks of political advisers in Berlin, the head of the Russian delegation Dmitry Kozak noted that the parties had failed to achieve "breakthroughs."

An obstacle for this was the position of the majority of deputies of the Ukrainian Rada on the issue of holding local elections in Donbass.

  • The building of the Verkhovna Rada

  • Reuters

  • © Valentyn Ogirenko

“We agreed that in the near future the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will consider a draft resolution, which will correct the resolution that was adopted on July 15,” Kozak added.

Recall that on July 15, 2020, the Rada adopted a resolution on holding the next local elections in the country on October 25 this year.

The draft document was supported by 326 parliamentarians with the required minimum of 226 votes.

The document does not provide for voting in the territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions not controlled by Kiev.

The decree notes that in these territories, elections can be appointed by a separate law if conditions such as "disarming all illegal armed groups" and "restoring full control of Ukraine along the state border", as well as "restoring the constitutional order and law and order" are met.

Note that in May 2020, the deputy head of the Servant of the People faction in the Rada, Alexander Kornienko, stated that elections in the Donbass territories not controlled by Kiev could be held simultaneously with the national elections scheduled for autumn.

“We believe in this with the whole team, together with Andrey Ermak, that it will happen in one day.

We are working to achieve this, ”he said during the briefing.

The intention to hold elections in Donbass was also announced by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February.

Holding elections on the territory of the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR may become one of the key steps to resolve the conflict in Donbass, experts say.

Under the terms of the Minsk Agreements, the dialogue on elections should start after the parties withdraw weapons from the line of contact.

Voting must take place in accordance with Ukrainian legislation and the law of Ukraine "On the temporary order of local self-government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions."

No later than 30 days from the date of the conclusion of this agreement, the Rada must adopt a resolution indicating the territories to which these rules will apply.

  • Vladimir Zelensky

  • Reuters

  • © Sergey Dolzhenko / Pool

Moscow reacted to the Rada's decision to refuse to hold elections in Donbass.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted then that this step can be interpreted as Kiev's withdrawal from the Minsk agreements. 

In August, the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the contact group on the settlement of the conflict in Donbass, ex-President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk, promised to send an appeal to the Rada on bringing the election resolution in line with the Minsk agreements.

The politician explained that the law on local elections has become an obstacle to the advancement of peace in Donbass. 

As the economist and political scientist Oleksandr Dudchak noted in an interview with RT, the situation is paradoxical, since, declaring their desire to reintegrate Donbass, the Ukrainian authorities themselves are blocking its return under Ukrainian jurisdiction.

“Kiev itself shows that it does not need people living in uncontrolled areas.

And you can imagine how the Ukrainian authorities will behave in relation to Donbass if it is returned to Ukraine.

Now Kiev is trying by all means to curtail the Minsk Agreements, ignoring the undertaken obligations, ”the expert noted.

New song about the old

However, Ukrainian lawmakers have been reluctant to take steps to hold elections in the self-proclaimed republics.

The amendments to the regulation on local elections, which the Rada may consider, also do not imply this.

This was announced earlier by the author of the amendments, deputy from the Servant of the People faction, Alexander Kachura.

According to the People's Deputy, the document does not mention holding elections in the uncontrolled territories.

  • Parade in Donetsk dedicated to the anniversary of the referendum on the independence of the DPR

  • Reuters

  • © Alexander Ermochenko

The text of the document, published on the Rada's website, says that local elections in "temporarily occupied territories", including Crimea and certain regions of Donbass, "are not appointed or held."

Voting in these territories can be ordered subject to a number of conditions: full completion of the disarmament, demilitarization and reintegration procedures in accordance with UN and OSCE standards.

As the head of the Center for Systems Analysis and Forecasting Rostislav Ishchenko explained in a commentary to RT, the amendments proposed by Servant of the People also contradict the Minsk Agreements as well as the resolution on local elections adopted earlier by the Rada.

“None of these two documents correspond to either the spirit or the letter of the Minsk agreements.

Because Zelensky and Yermak are afraid that if they call elections in Donbass, they will lose power.

Poroshenko will immediately take advantage of this to bring nationalists to the streets, ”the expert said.

On the other hand, in Zelensky's office they realize that it is through holding elections in accordance with Ukrainian laws that the self-proclaimed republics can return to Ukraine, Ishchenko believes.

“Zelensky is between two fires, because the elections in Donbass are beneficial, first of all, for Ukraine itself.

But this is opposed by nationalists who want to resolve the issue by military means.

And Zelensky is afraid of them, because it is a serious force, ”the expert added.

At the same time, Kiev's refusal to hold elections on the territory of the uncontrolled territories of Donbass will be a serious blow to the negotiation process, Alexander Dudchak believes.

“It is unclear how Kiev plans to move forward in the Normandy format now.

Against the background of the latest decisions, the meaning of further negotiations is diminishing, ”the expert said.

A similar point of view is shared by the Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin.

“Refusal to hold elections on the territory of the Donbass republics will be a direct violation of the Minsk agreements.

The United States is not interested in normalizing the situation, and this is the reason for Kiev's strange tactics.

But the refusal to hold elections in Donbass will mean, in fact, Kiev's withdrawal from the Minsk agreements, ”the expert summed up.