PARIS, December 10. /TASS/. The process of achieving a ceasefire in Donbass should be synchronized with Kiev's implementation of political reforms envisaged by the 2015 Minsk Agreements, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a press conference after the Normandy Four summit in Paris.
"It is necessary to synchronize the process of achieving a ceasefire with the implementation of political reforms in Ukraine, envisaged by the Minsk Agreements. First of all, we are talking about making amendments to the country's constitution that fix the special status of Donbass on the permanent basis," Putin said. He added that it si necessary to first prolong the document on the special status of certain regions of Donbass "and in the end make this norm permanent, as it is envisaged by the Minsk Agreements."
Moreover, Putin said that amendments should be made to the constitution that envisage the implmentation of the Steinmeier formula. "We shoudn't postpone the implementation of other commitments as well, including on amnesty and legal prohibition of prosecution of individuals who took part in the events in the country's south-east," the Russian president noted.
Putin noted that participants in the summit welcomed the disengagement of forces in three areas along the contact line in Donbass. "According to our assessments, every step on the way toward de-esclating the situation in south-eastern Ukraine is important, along with ensuring a comprehensive ceasefire. We hope that the disengagemet of forces will continue step by step, and works on demining and defortification will be completed in the areas of disengagement," he stressed.