Ukraine is to define Donbas territories with special status by mid-March — document
The document on implementing the Minsk agreements stipulates that Kiev will ensure a discussion on conditions for holding local elections in eastern Ukraine shortly after the heavy weaponry withdrawal
MINSK, February 12. /TASS/. Ukraine’s parliament within 30 days will have to adopt a resolution to define a territory that will have a special regime based on a separation line mentioned in the September 19 Minsk memorandum, a set of measures adopted by the Contact Group in Minsk on Thursday says.
The four-page document on implementing the Minsk agreements stipulates that Kiev will ensure a discussion on conditions for holding local elections in eastern Ukraine shortly after the heavy weaponry withdrawal.
"On the first day after the withdrawal, a dialogue is to be launched on the modalities of holding local elections in line with Ukraine’s legislation and the Ukrainian law "On temporary order of local government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions" and also on the future regime of these areas based on the above mentioned law," the document says.
The restoration of full control over the state border on the part of the Ukrainian government across the conflict zone needs to start on the first day after the local elections are held and have to be completed after an "all-encompassing political settlement" (namely elections and constitutional reform) by late 2015.
All the issues linked to local elections will be discussed and coordinated with the representatives of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as part of the Trilateral Contact Group.
The elections will be held in line with the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with the monitoring of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
The document was signed by the participants of the Trilateral Contact Group - the OSCE's special envoy to Ukraine, Heidi Tagliavini, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Russian ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, and also the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics - Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky.