MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. The Ukrainian side has changed its tone at the session of the Contact Group in Minsk, envoy of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) to Minsk talks Rodion Miroshnik told Rossiya-1 TV channel.

"We can note that at least the tone of [Ukraine's] envoy to the talks Leonid Kuchma was different today. He was much more understanding and practically talked openly about how Ukraine is interested in holding a summit in the Normandy format," Miroshnik said.

He added that Kiev has high hopes for the Normandy summit. "Ukraine wants to discuss there, most likely, key issues of the special status and its inclusion in the constitution, as well as several other issues of Donbass settlement. That's why Ukraine partially fulfilled the prerequisite in the form of the Steinmeier formula," he noted.

Miroshnik stressed that Kiev and the slef-proclaimed Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk have different understandings of what the special status entails. "Ukraine strives for decentralization. We want to be granted full special status exactly as it was outlined in the Minsk format," the envoy stated.

The Contact Group met in Minsk on Tuesday, October 29.