Themselves with statuses

Separatists from the self -proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk "people's republics" in the negotiations of the contact group in Minsk called on Ukraine to recognize their special status, RIA Novosti reports . In exchange for fulfilling their requirements, they promise to make maximum efforts to preserve the single space of Ukraine.

The contact group, which gathered after a month break, includes representatives of Russia, Ukraine, OSCE, as well as separatists. The so-called DPR in the negotiations is represented by its "Deputy Prime Minister" Andrei Purgin.

Among the requirements of the separatists are guarantees of the official use of the Russian language in the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics, a special regime of order protection, the independent purpose of prosecutors and judges, an amnesty of detained armed activists. Separatists also require compliance with the special order of foreign economic activity "taking into account the need to integrate with Russia and the Customs Union."

Representatives of the sipratists also insist on the termination of the anti -terrorist operation to conduct "free elections on the principles of independent self -government in the region."

"In the case of the adoption of the above legislative guarantees for the entity of the EU and Russia, the people's republics, for their part, guarantee that they will make maximum efforts to maintain peace, preserve the unified economic, cultural to the political space of Ukraine and the entire space of Russian-Ukrainian civilization. In order to terminate the fratricidal war and in order to fulfill the obligations of the national republics, will confirm these guarantees by the way the adoption of laws, acts and declarations necessary for fulfilling the obligations, ”the document says.

Earlier on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there should be an immediate ceasefire for negotiations of the contact group. "I personally expect that the negotiations planned for today will be primarily devoted to the task of coordinating immediate, without any conditions to end fire," the minister said.

Ukrainian troops "must leave positions from which they can harm the civilian population," said Lavrov. He also denied the military intervention of Russia. The United States and the European Union must demand from Kyiv to stop the use of heavy artillery and aviation "against civilians," the minister said.

On Monday, President Vladimir Putin said that the Kyiv authorities do not want to conduct a substantial political dialogue with the southeast of Ukraine. Speaking about the actions of the separatists, Putin noted that their goal is to push the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the large cities of the East of the country. "The purpose of the militia forces is to push these armed forces and artillery in order not to give them the opportunity to shoot in residential quarters," the president said.

On Sunday, Putin said that negotiations on the statehood of the southeast of the country are needed to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. "We need to strive to implement the plan that we agreed on. We need to immediately begin substantive, substantial negotiations and not on technical issues, but on issues of the political organization of society and statehood in the southeast of Ukraine," the Russian President said.

Later, Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin did not talk about the need to give statehood southeast of Ukraine. According to Peskov, the conversation was "about inclusive negotiations" within Ukraine itself.

“There were interpretations that, they say, the president said that these are negotiations on the statehood of the East of Ukraine. If you simply read his statement, it is clear that this is not so,” Peskov noted. “The president, in fact, spoke about the same inclusive negotiations, the need for which the speedy bears was emphasized for a long time in the documents that were signed in various formats.”