MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. The additional measures to strengthen and control the ceasefire in Donbass, signed on July 21, 2020, are the most effective security agreement in the region, but they could become more effective if the Donbass republics are recognized as a party to the conflict. This conclusion is contained in the summary of an expert study carried out by the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflict Studies, a non-profit organization, which included 24 foreign policy specialists from the UK, Australia, Russia, and Ukraine among them.
"The additional measures are the most efficient agreement in the security component since the beginning of the conflict" after the 2014 Minsk Agreements and the 2015 Complex of Measures on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, the summary says.
"During the period when the Additional Measures are in effect, a clear dynamic on reducing ceasefire violations can be observed," the researchers admitted.
Meanwhile, the experts believe that the last year’s agreements "could have achieved a more effective nature, if the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics were endowed with more identity in the negotiations process, which in effect means Ukraine’s recognition of the republics as a side to the conflict."
Granting the Donbass republics, "the status of a fully-fledged negotiation participant," and "the subjectivization of the republics by the global community" have been mentioned by the specialists as the most efficient and adequate instruments to end the armed standoff in Donbass.
"A significant portion of experts noted the necessity for direct talks between Ukraine and the Donbass republics (while some believe that this format would be most effective with OSCE’s mediation)," the paper says.
The Joint Ceasefire Control and Coordination Center must become a platform for such direct dialogue and interaction on security, the experts say.
"The majority of experts noted that the format of direct communication between the Ukrainian and Donbass militaries will provide a significant positive effect on the security component within the Donbass conflict," the research says. "The experts noted that structures akin to the JCCC are fundamental and the most efficient for compromises on security, as indicated by various conflicts."
While noting the necessity of the restoration of the full operation of the JCCC, a number of experts considered it necessary to involve representatives of the OSCE, the UN and other international organizations beside Kiev, the Donbass republics and Russia.