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Russian lawmaker: Kiev still not complying with Minsk agreements

According to Sergey Naryshkin, a number of laws that would ensure decentralization of power in Ukraine and a special status to certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions remained unpassed
Russian State Duma speaker Sergey Naryshkin Alexandr Shalgin/Russia's parliament press service/TASS
Russian State Duma speaker Sergey Naryshkin
© Alexandr Shalgin/Russia's parliament press service/TASS

VIENNA, February 25. /TASS/. Russia is disappointed as Kiev still fails to comply with the Minsk agreements and keeps blocking the work of the Contact Group for Ukraine within the framework of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Russian State Duma speaker Sergey Naryshkin said on Thursday.

"Unfortunately, the situation in Ukraine remains difficult. Yes, the ceasefire holds on the whole, but nevertheless tension persists," Naryshkin said at talks with President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Ilkka Kanerva.

"We are disappointed as the package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements is not implemented by the official Kiev," he added.

He said a number of laws, amendments to the constitution that would ensure decentralization of power in Ukraine and a special status to certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as laws on amnesty and on local elections remained unpassed or had not come into effect.

He said these laws could not be passed by the parliaments of Russia, Germany or France. "The official Kiev is the only one that can pass this law, but it does not do this," Naryshkin said.

He also said he would present to the OSCE PA president results of activity of the working group analyzing legislation in Ukraine.

"A working group to analyze legislative procedures and legal decisions passed in Ukraine has been set up at the State Duma at my initiative," he went on, saying the group was monitoring the situation.

The Belarusian capital of Minsk hosted on February 12, 2015 summit talks of Normandy Four leaders — Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The 16-hour marathon summit negotiations ended in a package of agreements. The 13-point Package of Measures on implementation of the September 2014 Minsk agreements, adopted in February 2015, in particular included an agreement on cessation of fire from February 15, withdrawal of heavy armaments, as well as measures on long-term political settlement of the situation in Ukraine, including enforcement of a special self-rule status for certain districts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.