MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. Ukrainian authorities continue to complicate the Donbass conflict negotiating process, which is already driven into a deadlock, instead of settling the crisis, deputy spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Nikolai Lakhonin said in a statement on Wednesday.
"In the political sphere, the Ukrainian authorities continue to take steps in the Donbass conflict settlement which complicate the negotiating situation that is already driven into a deadlock. For instance, the Ukrainian cabinet approved the bill entitled ‘On state policy for the transitional period’ on August 5. The bill says that a ‘transitional period strategy’ will be applied in Donbass which makes provisions for a certain ‘special legal regime’ aimed at cleansing the region of forces that are not loyal to Kiev which has nothing to do with the Minsk Agreements. The bill is not mentioning anything about the special status, language rights and an amnesty for Donbass residents. The bill was not submitted for consideration of the political subgroup of the contact group by the Ukrainian side and was not discussed with representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk," the statement reads.
The diplomat also called on the international community to pay "the closest attention to the processes that are taking place in Ukraine" and take all the necessary measures to jointly stimulate Kiev to stop the war against the residents of east Ukraine and abandon mass human rights violations, including brazen discrimination of ethnic minorities and persecution of independent media and opposition.