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Negotiating process on Donbass is in deadlock, says Putin

The talks are being held for eight years now, the Russian President recalled

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. The negotiations on Donbass have been going on for already eight years but this process has come to a deadlock, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the country’s Security Council on Monday.

"As for the negotiating process, [Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration Dmitry] Kozak has already reported. It [the process] is in a deadlock. Simply a deadlock. We have been holding negotiations for eight years now. That is the point," he said.

The plan for the Donbass peaceful settlement is based on the Minsk Agreements agreed upon in February 2015. They stipulate ceasefire, the pullback of weapons, amnesty, the resumption of economic ties and a profound constitutional reform in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials regularly make statements on their readiness to honor the Minsk Accords but have been actually ignoring them for many years. In particular, Kiev has refused to hold a direct dialogue with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) and stands against granting a special status to Donbass and delays the negotiations in the Contact Group in every possible way.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Vladimir Putin Eastern Ukraine

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