Oekraïne gaat akkoord met plan-Steinmeier

Het plan-Steinmeier wordt uitgewerkt, op papier gezet en door Oekraïne ondertekend voordat een ontmoeting van de Normandische Vier plaats heeft. Minister Vadim Pristajko van Buitenlandse Zaken heeft dat tegenover de nieuwssite Europeski Pravda toegegeven. ''Het was één van de twee voorwaarden waarmee we akkoord moesten gaan om weer een overleg van de Normandische Vier te krijgen. De tweede voorwaarde is dat op drie plaatsen langs de frontlijn de wederzijdse troepen zich terugtrekken.''

Vervolgens kwam er nog een derde voorwaarde bij. Rusland wil namelijk dat er duidelijke afspraken worden gemaakt, zodat de vier leiders na afloop met een gezamenlijke verklaring kunnen komen. Het uitwerken van het plan-Steinmeier met de voorwaarden waaronder er lokale verkiezingen komen in de bezette gebieden is niet eenvoudig gebleken.

De onderhandelaars in Minsk kwamen er afgelopen woensdag in ieder geval nog niet uit. Volgens Pristajko kwam dat door ''een technisch misverstand''. Er wordt door Rusland anders naar het plan-Steinmeier gekeken dan Oekraïne dat doet. Met name gaat het om de voorwaarde dat de separatisten hun wapens neerleggen en de Russische soldaten vertrekken voordat er verkiezingen worden gehouden. Als die verkiezingen naar het oordeel van de OVSE eerlijk en transparant zijn verlopen, dan krijgen de bezette gebieden autonomie binnen Oekraïne.

Bron: Unian

Steinmeier Formula to be agreed in writing at Minsk talks before Normandy Four summit – Prystaiko 18:30, 20 September 2019 Politics 23 0 The minister noted that the TCG at its previous meeting in Minsk on Sept 18 failed to agree on the conditions for local elections in the occupied parts of Donbas due to a "technical misunderstanding". Photo from UNIAN Photo from UNIAN One of the conditions for the meeting of the Normandy Four (Ukraine, Germany, France, Russia) to be held is the formal approval of the "Steinmeier formula" at a Minsk meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group for Donbas Settlement, says Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko In an interview with the European Pravda online newspaper, asked if Ukraine agrees to receive a written confirmation of the Steinmeier formula before the Normandy Four summit, Prystaiko said: "Yes, this is one of the two conditions for the leaders to meet, which we agreed on. The second condition is that we expect that forces disengage at three control sectors. Then the Russians added another, third condition, which says 'developing clear statements for the leaders to declare'." The Minister noted that the TCG during its meeting in Minsk on Sept 18 failed to agree in writing on the conditions for local elections in the occupied parts of Donbas "due to a technical misunderstanding". The minister did not exclude that the text discussed at the TCG meeting could be amended. Read alsoUkraine in TCG: "Steinmeier formula" possible only following ceasefire, withdrawal of occupation forces, renewed control over border "What it will turn into – whether it remains unchanged, or something is added – should be decided by the Trilateral Contact Group," he said. Prystaiko noted that Ukraine agreed to "clearly written wording that the advisers discussed." "... in September 2019, advisers to the Normandy Four leaders agreed not on the Steinmeier formula but on another clear wording. It also says that the law on special status shall be applied on a temporary basis, from the moment the elections are held, and on a permanent basis – after the OSCE/ODIHR recognizes that the elections have met high standards," the foreign minister explained. He noted that the general wording on which the agreements were reached "causes a lot of interpretations," which, in particular, always occurs at the talks in Minsk. Read alsoPrystaiko: No one is going to surrender Ukraine, but it's impossible to agree on peace without compromise "But now this is not the task of the Normandy Four or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – this task has been transferred to the TCG. As soon as they reformulate this more precisely, we will then see what happened to our proposal and whether we can offer it to the leaders so that they meet," the minister said.

Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/politics/10693131-steinmeier-formula-to-be-agreed-in-writing-at-minsk-talks-before-normandy-four-summit-prystaiko.html