The special status of Donbass is guaranteed by the Minsk agreements. They are recognized by both the parties to the conflict and by the world community as the only alternative way of settling the situation in Ukraine. Kiev's commitment to consolidate a special status on an ongoing basis, including at the constitutional level, was established by the Protocol following consultations of the Tripartite Contact Group back in September 2014. The Verkhovnaya Rada of Ukraine, imitating the implementation of this Protocol, urgently adopted the law «On a special order of local self-government in certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions», which then did not come into effect because of the uncertainty of its action in space.

On February 12, 2015, the Complex of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements specified a clear timeframe for determining the territories to which the Special Status Law is being extended, for its immediate launch. However, in March 2015, Ukraine unilaterally, without preliminary discussions with either representatives of the Republics or at the level of the «Norman Quartet», amended this law, according to which the special status of certain regions comes into effect only after local elections in these territories are held. Thus, the Law did not operate for a single day, and Kiev's amendments that blocked it, are a direct violation of its obligations.

Today, Ukraine continues to evade not only the implementation of the Complex of Measures and the enactment of the Law on the Special Status of Our Territories, but also the discussion of the compromise mechanism for the enactment of this law, proposed by Mr. Steinmeier. Despite the fact that the leaders of the guarantor countries have repeatedly confirmed the approval of this mechanism for granting Donbass a special status on permanent basis, Kiev continues to sabotage the discussion of this issue. Ukrainian representatives use various instruments to avoid a constructive dialogue, in particular, referring to the need for consultations ‘in other formats’, refuse to give their official position on the negotiations, consistently ignore all our appeals to document the results of the meetings and the positions of the parties in order to grant a special status to our territories.

All these actions of the Ukrainian side have led to the fact that for over two years we have still been far from the beginning of the implementation of the documents signed in Minsk. We are sincerely concerned about the lack of response of the world community to such actions on the part of Ukraine on the delay of the negotiation process and the implementation of the Complex of Measures.

Wishing to resolve the conflict peacefully through diplomatic channels and in pursuance of the Minsk Agreements, we appeal to the international community and, in particular, to the leaders of the guarantor countries of the Minsk Agreements. We call for an immediate attention to the situation in the negotiation process and all necessary measures to exert pressure on Kiev with a view to the speedy, literal and full implementation of the Complex of Measures as the only and without alternative program for a peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas. 

The DPR representative Natalia Nikonorova 

The LPR Representative Rodin Miroshnik

According to: Новости Донецкой Республики