Moscow - In the negotiations of the contact group on the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic will demand that Kyiv recognize the special status of the territories of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic and halt the military operation in order to hold free elections of the heads and deputies of these republics.
Representatives of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic told Interfax that the administrations of the republics have formed their negotiation positions for the contact group meetings involving representatives of Kyiv, Russia and the OSCE.
“In accordance with the spirit and letter of the Geneva agreements, the president, the government and the parliament of Ukraine should adopt legislative acts guaranteeing the immediate overcoming of the consequences of the humanitarian catastrophe, recognition by Ukraine of the special status of the territories controlled by the people’s republics, the creation of conditions – primarily the halt of the anti-terrorist operation ‘for free elections of the heads and deputies of all levels of the people’s republics, based on the principles of independent people’s governance without the right of early cancellation of mandates,” representatives of the self-proclaimed republics said.
The self-proclaimed republics will seek the right to use the Russian language at the official level.
Furthermore, the republics will demand an “unconditional amnesty for political prisoners and militants, and also political figures, parliamentarians, government officials, and officials from other structures of the people’s republics.”
The self-proclaimed republics will demand the rebuilding of housing, utility lines, transport and industrial infrastructure, and a special foreign economic activity regulations, “bearing in mind the need for further economic integration with Russia and the Customs Union.”
The leaders of the self-proclaimed republics said conditions should be created to ensure the return of refugees and a joint commission should be set up to work on the treatment of peaceful conflict resolution and Donbas reconstruction.
“If the said legislative guarantees are adopted, with guarantees from the EU and Russia, the people’s republics, for their part, guarantee to make maximum efforts to maintain peace and preserve the unified economic, cultural and political space of Ukraine and the entire Russian-Ukrainian civilization space,” representatives of the republics said.
Simultaneously with the adoption by Ukraine of such legislative acts, the administrations of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic also promise to adopt appropriate legislative acts to ensure the realization of the goals stated above.
For further negotiations, the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic suggest that the Ukrainian president and government “appoint an official representative or representatives in the negotiations with the people’s republics from the state civil service.”
“At the first stage, the people’s republics can delegate to representatives of public organizations whom they trust a mandate to negotiate on their behalf, stating the representatives of the Ukrainian president and government,” Interfax was told.
“At the second stage, by the agreement of the parties, negotiations can be conducted directly between official representatives of the Ukrainian president and government and official representatives of the People’s Republics,” the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic said.
Representatives of the self-proclaimed republics also said they will conduct negotiations “only together” and will not reach any separate agreements.
The next consultations of the contact group on the settlement of the situation in Ukraine are scheduled to be held in Minsk on September 1.
