Ukraine proposes to hold local elections in Donbass on March 31, 2021

The Ukrainian side has prepared a “Joint Steps Plan” for the Trilateral Contact Group to resolve the situation in Donbass. The document contains a proposal to completely end the conflict and demilitarize the uncontrolled territories of Donbass in early 2021. And on March 31, 2021, to hold local elections there. It should be noted that this is a response to their similar plan provided by the DPR / LPR, which Strana has already written about in detail.

Interfax-Ukraine writes about this with reference to the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG Leonid Kravchuk.

“The first thing we propose to do is end the necessarily armed conflict, and carry out the complete demilitarization of CADLO. We must start with this. That is to say, all armed formations, mercenaries, weapons must be withdrawn from this territory, the illegal armed formations must be dissolved. . And this should be done in early 2021, “he said.

According to him, after that Ukraine should take control of the border and guarantee normal life in these territories. “That is to say, the security component becomes the main one, determining to be able to advance,” said Kravchuk.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG pointed out that it would be necessary to clearly regulate the question of the responsibility of the persons who participated in the events related to the war in Donbass and the prevention of punishment for those who are not guilty of committing crimes.

“This should be done through the approval of a relevant bill by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the text of which should be discussed in the TCG working group on political issues. We must ensure that liability issues are resolved in accordance with the law, in a balanced way, taking into account the situation in Donbass and the experience of other countries. Because there are criminals, there are people who came to kill for money; they should be held accountable, while others should live and work normally in their own Ukrainian land, “he explained.

The Ukrainian side will insist that it is necessary to immediately guarantee full and unconditional access by international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to all detainees. Ukraine would like this to be done by mid-November 2020, and the final mutual release of detainees on the principle of “everyone for everyone” took place no later than December 15, 2020.

“We hope that both the Russian Federation and Germany and France will support this proposal of ours. Because monitoring the border between Ukraine and Russia in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions requires active work and constant information,” he said, noting that in his plan , Ukraine insists on ensuring full control over specific sections of the Ukraine-Russia border from its side even before the elections.

According to the Ukrainian plan, no later than March 31, 2021, local elections must be held on the territory of CADLO in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.

In addition, it will be necessary to pass a law on the specificities of holding local elections in ORDLO. I think that the Verkhovna Rada has already worked a lot in this direction. It is necessary to raise all these developments, look at their content and, taking into account the changes that have occurred, take an appropriate decision “- said Kravchuk.

He also added that since the “Steinmeier formula” was discussed at the meeting of the “Normandy Four” in December 2019 in Paris and accepted at work, it cannot be ignored and must also be mentioned in the document.

Kravchuk noted that the authorities of the Russian Federation, in particular the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, adopted a series of decisions and documents for ORDLO, for example, on a simplified procedure to grant residents of these territories the Russian citizenship. Therefore, the Ukrainian side will propose that such decisions and documents be canceled.

According to the first president, Ukraine will also propose the creation of a free economic zone as part of the implementation of a special order of local self-government in CADLO.

“Without it, it will be impossible to restore the economy there. And this Free Economic Zone, according to our vision, should operate until approximately 2050. Calculations show that this time it will allow the Donbass region to return to normal,” he said.

Kravchuk also noted that the Ukrainian side would very much like the next meeting of the leaders of the Normandy format states to take place before the end of 2020. “For them to assess the process of implementation of the agreements, which has been done and what has not been done. And they must discuss the security conditions and the political conditions for local elections. Let it be clear and clear that local elections in ORDLO are possible only under certain suitable conditions, “he said. …

The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG stressed that the “Joint Steps Plan” proposed by Ukraine does not replace what has already been done during the six years of operation of the Normandy Format and the TCG. “This is a document that responds to the realities and what has been done, and with your help we want to complement or clarify those issues that have not been fully, precisely and concretely reflected in previous documents,” he explained.

Kravchuk is convinced that this cannot be a document based on the proposals of one party: Ukraine, Russia or the OSCE.

This should be a document that takes into account what has been done and what we see for tomorrow. Proposals from all parties must be taken into account. Only that document will have the right to exist, be accepted and will be implemented by all parties. and we find that “golden mean” that satisfies the interests of all parties and, most importantly, of the people living in the temporarily occupied Donbass territories, “he urged.

On November 5, this plan from the Ukrainian side will be sent to the TCG coordinator, special representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Heidi Grau.

Let us remind you that the TCG for Donbass political group was instructed to urgently develop a plan to activate the conflict resolution at the end of October.

We also wrote that the TCG agreed to four new points of separation of forces in Donbas.