DONETSK/LUHANSK, September 1 (RIA Novosti) – The self-proclaimed eastern Ukrainian regions of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics have called upon Kiev to acknowledge their special status in exchange for fulfilling the capitol's demands and promising to use maximum efforts to keep Ukraine a unified space.
“Equal negotiations are the single acceptable method for the People’s Republics on solving the conflict and restoring peace. The president, government and Verkhovna Rada (parliament of Ukraine) must accept in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Geneva Accords the legal acts guaranteeing…the acknowledgment by Kiev of the special status of the territories controlled by the People’s Republics,” a joint republic statement reads.
“If the aforementioned legal guarantees are accepted under the auspices of the EU and Russia, the People’s Republics from their side will guarantee they will give maximum effort to keeping peace, preserving a single economic, cultural, and political space of Ukraine and all of the areas of the Russian-Ukrainian civilization,” the statement reads.
The representatives of the two republics announced their position on negotiations to a meeting with the contact group on settling the Ukrainian crisis, in Minsk, Belarus, on Monday. The contact group consists of Moscow, Kiev, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), as well as representatives from southeastern Ukraine.
The confrontation between Kiev and Donetsk and Luhansk started in mid-April when the Ukrainian government launched a military operation in the southeastern regions of the country. Kiev-backed forces have been fighting against independence supporters who refused to recognize the newly instated government following the February 22 coup.
Despite being accused of meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs and escalating the conflict, Moscow has denied these allegations and urged to resolve the crisis peacefully. Russia has also been helping the civilian population of the regions, sending a humanitarian convoy with about 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid.
On August 26, Minsk hosted multilateral talks, attended by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and European Union officials. Crisis in Ukraine was one of the issues discussed, with all participants of the Customs Union-Ukraine-EU meeting agreeing on a non-violent de-escalation of the crisis.
