Ukraine - Q&A from the press briefing (23 November 2020)

Q : The information policy adviser of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group said that the law on the “special status” of Donbas would most likely be extended, but without including the Steinmeier formula. Can you comment on those remarks?

A : At the Paris summit in December 2019, the heads of state and government of the Normandy Format agreed on the need to enshrine the “Steinmeier formula,” which determines the conditions for the entry in force of the law on special provisions for local self-government in certain districts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, in Ukrainian law. On December 12, 2019, Ukraine had once again extended the law currently in force to avoid a legal vacuum, demonstrating its commitment to fully implement the Minsk agreements. Since then, discussions have continued within the Trilateral Contact Group under the auspices of the OSCE on the specific means of integrating the Steinmeier formula into Ukrainian law. We regret that these talks have not moved forward for several weeks, leaving Ukraine no other choice but to renew the existing text.

Together with Germany, France is pursuing its efforts within the Normandy Format to get the parties to implement the commitments made at the Paris summit in order to move toward the establishment of a just and lasting peace in eastern Ukraine.