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Luhansk, Donetsk have no say in Ukraine’s constitutional reform — Russia FM

The constitutional process envisages agreeing with Luhansk and Donetsk all amendments to the Ukrainian constitution that are related to their territories

MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. A constitutional reform in Ukraine is being conducted without a say from Luhansk and Donetsk, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.

"The Minsk agreements plainly provide for decentralization - political, economic, cultural. They have detailed description of what is to be done. The authors of the wording are Germany and France," he said.

"The constitutional process envisages agreeing with Luhansk and Donetsk all amendments to the Ukrainian constitution that are related to their territories," he noted. "An ad hoc commission was set up in Kiev under the Ukrainian president but Luhansk and Donetsk have no representatives in this commission."

The Russian foreign minister said Russia had raised the problem of Ukraine’s constitutional reform during contacts with European and US partners, at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe. The latter, in his words, had offered its assistance in wording a new edition of the Ukrainian constitution. "It is becoming ever more difficult for them to evade answers," he added.