MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Sauli Niinisto of Finland have discussed the prospects for resolving the Ukrainian crisis in a phone call, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Friday.
"When discussing the prospects for resolving the domestic crisis in Ukraine, both parties highlighted the importance of consistent and full implementation of the 2015 Minsk Package of Measures as there is no alternative to it in terms of efforts to settle the issue," the statement reads.
According to the Kremlin press service, the Russian president pointed out that "Kiev keeps avoiding the need to implement its obligations under the Minsk Agreements, which particularly envisage direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk and steps to enshrine the special status of Donbass in the constitution."
Efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Donbass are based on the Minsk Agreements, which particularly include moves to declare a ceasefire, withdraw weapons, declare amnesty, restore economic ties and conduct constitutional reform in Ukraine through dialogue with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR), aimed at decentralizing power and providing a special status to certain districts in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. However, the negotiation process has actually stalled because of Kiev’s refusal to fulfill the political provisions of the Minsk accords. In particular, Kiev is reluctant to build any direct dialogue with the DPR and LPR and enshrine the region's special status in the constitution and demands to have control of Donbass’ border with Russia before the implementation of the political provisions of the accords. Meanwhile, under Paragraph Nine of the Package of Measures on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, work to restore full control over the border should begin the next day after local elections take place and be completed only after a comprehensive political solution is found.