The issue of holding elections in some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions was removed from the agenda of the Minsk negotiations thanks to the position of the Ukrainian side, Olha Aivazovska, Ukrainian representative in the political subgroup of the trilateral contact group for the settlement of the situation in Donbas, said.
“In reality, the negotiation process is sometimes much more complex […] than it seems. Because the issue of elections, the issue of constitutional changes has been removed from the agenda thanks to the negotiations and the position of the Ukrainian side,” Aivazovska said in an interview with Channel 5.
Aivazovska said Russia favors implementation of the plan proposed by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, former foreign minister of Germany, according to which the Verkhovna Rada adopts a law on holding elections in Donbas and then elections are conducted on this territory, after which the OSCE decides whether they meet the European standards.
“Certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and the Russian Federation are now fighting for one issue – it’s ‘Steinmeier’s formula.’ Because we also need to minimize hollow internal political debate and understand that everything is much more complex, be wiser in these issues, bearing in mind that the jurisdiction of the law on local self-governance expires in September,” Aivazovska said.
