MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. Ukraine’s so-called Donbass reintegration law, which runs counter to the Minsk deal, delays indefinitely peaceful settlement in the region, envoy of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) to the political subgroup Rodion Miroshnik told TASS.

"The adoption of law "On the aspects of state policy on the restoration of the state sovereignty of Ukraine over the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions" delays indefinitely the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbass by political and diplomatic means," he said, stressing that the law contradicts the Minsk agreements.

The 2015 Minsk peace deal is an international agreement signed by representatives of Ukraine, is confirmed by the UN Security Council’s resolution and outlines Kiev’s commitments on the peaceful settlement of the conflict, Miroshnik said.

He slammed the passing of the Donbass reintegration law as Kiev’s unilateral move that "ignores basic principles of the international law" and "calls in question the entire Minsk process."

Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed the so-called law on Donbass reintegration. The document classifies the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as "occupied territories," labels Russia an "occupier" and officially introduces the notion of "Russian aggression." The president will have the right to use the armed forces, including for liberating the territories in the country’s east, without the parliament’s approval. A unified operation headquarters of Ukraine’s Armed Forces will be set up to control all security forces and military and civil administrations in the conflict zone. Any mentioning of the Minsk agreements has been excluded from the document.