Russia, Donbas leaders call for permanent special status in Ukraine

The Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics must gain permanent special status in the Ukrainian Constitution, rather than expiring in 2017 as previously agreed upon, said on Jan. 27 Boris Gryzlov, Russia’s representative to the Trilateral Contact Group to resolve the conflict. Such amendments should be approved by the Contact Group, he said. The same proposal was echoed by leaders of the terrorist groups attending the talks, the report said, without identifying them. They called for securing permanent special status, widely considered to be de facto autonomy, in the body of the Constitution, rather than its transitional statutes, as had been proposed by the Ukrainian side.

Zenon Zawada: So much for the recent drive to forge some kind of a compromise. By this raising of its ante, the Russian side has buried the circulating notions that the recent weeks of negotiations, involving top diplomats, drew the opponents in this conflict closer to agreement. We’re essentially back to Square One in the talks. Moreover, the West will never agree to permanent de facto autonomy for Donbas as its strategy was based on this autonomy failing eventually.