Kiev agrees to discuss amnesty and elections in Donbass in Minsk

On January 13 in Minsk, the political sub-group of the Contact Group on settlement of the conflict in the east of Ukraine will continue working on the issues of amnesty and elections in Donbass and “the problems connected with inviolability during possible political settlement process,” Roman Bezsmertnyi, Kiev’s representatives said at the talks in Minsk.

“The technological process will be continued, and it is just continuation of what was done by all the four sub-groups before the New Year. It is not a novelty. Neither is it new conceptual approaches,” Bezsmertnyi said on the Ukrainian television adding that some new projects and documents are discussed, but these are not revolutionary changes or approaches.

It is noteworthy that earlier Bezsmertnyi said on the Ukrainian television that a new format of talks on settlement of the conflict in the east of Ukraine – a certain Minsk III – that is not documented anywhere came into effect on January 1. In his words, Minsk II does not meet “even by 50%” the problems Ukraine has faced.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the statements on the “Minsk-III” “incompetent and even ignorant,” while representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics called them “absurd.”

Yesterday, in an interview with Bild, German newspaper, President of Russia Vladimir Putin pointed at unwillingness of the Kiev authorities to implement the Minsk Agreements. “It expressly states that the constitutional reform must be carried out and it is not Moscow that is to make these decisions.

Consequently, the constitutional reform and political processes are to be implemented first, followed by confidence building on the basis of those reforms and the completion of all processes, including the border closure,” the president said. “How can demands be made on Moscow to do what in fact must be done in line with the decisions of our colleagues in Kiev?” Putin said for conclusion.