Poroshenko will have to fulfill everything he signed in Minsk - Ukrainian political scientist on negotiations on Donbass
The initiative voiced today by representatives of the DPR and LPR is to return to the implementation of the Minsk agreements and extend their validity for the next year, because official Kyiv disrupted the initial schedule for implementing the agreements - a completely realistic and extremely expedient proposal.
Ukrainian political scientist Kost Bondarenko told PolitNavigator this while commenting on the outcome of the latest round of negotiations on the status of Donbas held today in Minsk.
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“The demands of representatives of the DPR and LPR to adopt an amendment that will put into effect the law on the Special Status of Donbass are completely reasonable. Donbass should receive a special status, which was discussed a lot both during the meeting in Minsk and after it. This “slalom” with the granting/non-granting of this status to Donbass does not honor the politicians who first declare the need to grant such a status, then refuse it, then again say that they can, to some extent, grant a special status. If it is spelled out in the Minsk agreements, it must be implemented,” the expert said.
“We see political ping-pong, with one side accusing the other of wrongdoing. I think that in order to avoid these accusations, the initial conditions must be fulfilled - the withdrawal of weapons. After this, it will be difficult to blame anyone for non-compliance with the Minsk agreements. The main thing is to ensure that these tanks and heavy weapons stop shooting at civilians,” Bondarenko continued.
“In any case, the fact that these meetings continue in Minsk shows that the Minsk agreements are effective, and today they are the only opportunity to influence the situation. I think this is the most important point in the Minsk process that needs to be paid attention to. There are many skeptics, those who say that we need to stop this process, get out of it, but the very fact that the parties find an opportunity to meet, agree and offer constructive solutions speaks for itself and forces us to treat the Minsk process with respect,” – says the Ukrainian analyst.