KIEV, November 9. /TASS/. Ukraine will not implement the scenario of assigning a special status to Donbass in the framework of the "Steinmeier formula," Kiev’s envoy to the Contact Group’s political subgroup Olga Ayvazovskaya said after the Contact Group’s meeting in Kiev.
Participants in the Minsk talks exert pressure on the Ukrainian delegation forcing it to adopt the "Steinmeier formula," Ayvazovskaya said. "The Ukrainian side cannot resort to this because the leaders of the ‘Normandy Quartet’ ordered the four foreign ministers to coordinate a roadmap by the end of November, part of which will be devoted to provisions on security, as well as a political bloc," she wrote on her Facebook page.
Commenting on the results of Wednesday’s meeting of the Contact Group in Minsk, Viktoria Talakina, press secretary of the envoy of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin, said earlier that they are "rather unsatisfactory."
"The results of the 50th session of the subgroup on political issues are far from optimistic. Negotiators failed to progress in discussing key issues of implementing ‘the Steinmeier formula’ and regulations," Talakina wrote on her Facebook page. "Precisely political issues are the basis for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbass. ‘The Steinmeier formula’ was approved by participants of the ‘Normandy format’, including the Ukrainian president. That’s why Kiev’s refusal to discuss the implementation of this formula represents another attempt to prolong the negotiations process," she noted.
"Steinmeier formula"
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier suggested a procedure for providing a special status to Donbass. The special status will be assigned to Donbass on the day of local election on the temporary basis. It will become permanent only after the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) published a report that recognizes the legitimacy of voting. The idea was approved at the "Normandy Quartet" meeting in Paris on 2 October 2015 and was named the "Steinmeier formula."
Another round
The Contact Group on settling the situation in Ukraine’s east held a meeting in Minsk on Wednesday that lasted for five hours. However, no concrete agreements were achieved. One of the main topics were security and importance of disengaging forces in Donbass, as well as several humanitarian problems, such as opening border checkpoints at the contact line.
Issues of prisoner exchange were raised as well but no decisions were agreed on the matter. The economic subgroup did not gather for a meeting again. The key issue of providing special status for Donbass was postponed for the next meeting in Minsk scheduled for November 23.