Steinmeier formula to be basis for Donbas peace legislation, Zelensky aide says

The Steinmeier formula to fulfill the Minsk Accords will
become the basis for legislation being prepared to help end the warfare in
Donbas, presidential aide Andriy Yermak said in a Facebook post on Sept. 21.
The legislation, as well as the entire peace process, will be subject to public
discussion, he said. “Nothing will be decided without society’s knowledge,” he
said. “The process of implementing the formula has several stages. This is not
a one-off decision. The (Steinmeier) formula is not law. It is the basis for
the legislation, which will be voted upon and brought for public
discussion.” 

An agreed-upon Steinmeier formula doesn’t exist,
former President Poroshenko told the 5 Kanal television network broadcast on
Sept. 21. “No Steinmeier agreement, no Steinmeier formula exist that have allegedly
been agreed upon with someone,” he said. Instead, at the last Normandy Format
meeting in 2016, then-German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier proposed
that once security is provided for and flawless elections are organized, the
law on a special regime of local self-governance is approved on the day of
elections, when the OSCE concludes the elections were fair. Yet Russian
President Putin insisted that a version drafted of the formula by his foreign
minister, Sergei Lavrov, which Poroshenko said he rejected.

Recall, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Oleh Prystaiko told
a Sept. 18 meeting of members of the parliamentary foreign affairs and
Euro-integration committees that he has approved the use of Steinmeier formula
to resolve the conflict in Donbas, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site.
“We agreed upon the Steinmeier formula during a Sept. 2 meeting of advisers,
and I can say that I gave my approval. The law on special status takes effect
in the previous format at the moment elections are conducted. It takes full
effect after a decision by the OSCE ODIHR” recognized the elections as fair,
Prystaiko said, explaining his version of how it will be fulfilled. “The
necessary security conditions are first created, and elections are held only
then. President Zelensky has clearly said this.”