2014 Minsk Protocol On Ukrainian Crisis Settlement

Thursday marks five years since the Kiev authorities and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) with Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) acting as mediators signed a protocol designed to resolve the conflict in southeastern Ukraine

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2019) Thursday marks five years since the Kiev authorities and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) with Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) acting as mediators signed a protocol designed to resolve the conflict in southeastern Ukraine.

The official name of the document is "Protocol on the results of consultations of the Trilateral Contact Group with respect to joint steps aimed at the implementation of the Peace Plan of the President of Ukraine, P. [Petro] Poroshenko, and the initiatives of the President of Russia, V. [Vladimir] Putin."

The 12-point Minsk Protocol was comprehensive: in addition to the declaration of a ceasefire, it also involved the exchange of prisoners and a number of other political agreements, in particular, Ukraine's commitment to adopt a law on the special status of a number of areas of Donbas. However, the parameters of the ceasefire were not defined.

The Protocol's main points were: an immediate bilateral ceasefire; the monitoring and verification of the ceasefire by the OSCE; the monitoring of the Ukrainian-Russian border by the OSCE; the immediate release of all hostages and illegally detained persons; the withdrawal of "illegal armed groups, military equipment, as well as fighters and mercenaries from Ukraine"; and the adoption of a law prohibiting the prosecution and punishment of persons in connection with the events that took place in the east of the country.

The document provided for the launch of "inclusive national dialogue"; the decentralization of power, including the adoption of a law in Ukraine on the special status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions; and early local elections in Donbas.

The parties also agreed to take necessary measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Donbas and adopt a program for the economic revival of the region.

The final point gave the participants of the consultation a guarantee of security.

The Protocol was signed by the participants of the Trilateral Contact Group the OSCE Chair-in-Office's Special Representative Ambassador, Heidi Tagliavini; Ukraine's second president, Leonid Kuchma; and Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov and by DPR and LPR leaders Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, respectively.

On September 19, 2014, the parties signed a memorandum for implementing the Minsk Protocol.

The Kiev authorities and representatives of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR agreed on a general ceasefire and the creation of a 30-kilometer (18.6 miles) security zone in the border regions under the OSCE's supervision.

In accordance with the agreement, each party should have also pulled back heavy equipment (with a caliber of more than 100 millimeters) by 15 kilometers from the frontline. Artillery systems with a caliber of more than 100 millimeters were to be moved back from their "juxtaposition by the length of their maximum range."

The parties were also required to remove mines and explosive barriers within the safety zone and to not install new ones.

Flights of military aviation and foreign drones over the safety zone were prohibited.

During 2014, the key provisions of the Minsk agreements were not implemented. However, these steps reduced the degree of confrontation and gave Russia an opportunity to establish systematic humanitarian aid deliveries to Donbas in order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in the region.

From February 11-12, 2015, amid a sharp aggravation of the situation in Donbas, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, then-French President Francois Hollande and then-Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko held talks in the so-called Normandy format in Minsk.

At the same time, a contact group on Ukraine worked on a document that would reduce tension in Donbas.

The talks produced two documents. The first was the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreement, which envisioned a ceasefire and the pullout of heavy artillery from the line of contact to create a 50-150 kilometer security zone. The Agreement also called for constitutional reform in Ukraine, including decentralization and granting special status to Luhansk and Donetsk.

The second document was a declaration in support of the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreement, which was adopted by the Normandy Four leaders.

According to experts, the Minsk agreements gave a chance to peacefully end the bloodshed in the region. Nevertheless, despite the constant statements made by the parties about their commitment to the Minsk process, all their diplomatic efforts have not yet brought peace to the east of Ukraine.

Negotiations stalled out because Kiev and the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR had different views on how the conflict should be resolved. In order to hold elections in Donbas, Kiev demanded a complete ceasefire there, the return of the state border in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions under their control and to allow Ukrainian parties to take part in the elections.

In turn, the DPR and LPR demanded that Ukraine adopt amendments to the constitution on decentralization, taking into account the autonomy of Donbas, declare amnesty for the participants of the military actions in Donbas and pass a law on the peculiarities of elections in the region. The DPR and LPR also noted that, in accordance with the Minsk agreements, control over the border should be transferred to Kiev only after the elections.

The Ukrainian authorities consider the idea of federalization unacceptable, claiming that it may lead to a split in the country. In 2015, constitutional amendments on the decentralization of power were approved by the Ukrainian parliament in the first reading. The amendments provide for the transfer of financial powers from the center to the regions. However, due to the inconsistency of the norms on the special status of Donbas, the final adoption of amendments has been indefinitely postponed.

Kiev refuses to fulfill certain Minsk agreements provisions and conduct direct negotiations with representatives of Donbas.

In 2015, the Kiev authorities introduced pass control with the territories of Donbas uncontrolled by them. You can enter or leave the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR exclusively through checkpoints or through the territory of Russia. OSCE observers claimed that the transport and economic blockade led to a humanitarian catastrophe in the region and called for the opening of more checkpoints. Also, since 2014, Kiev stopped all social payments to people living in occupied territories.

According to experts, the only achievement in the implementation of the Minsk Agreements is the exchange of prisoners held on the eve of 2018. Despite the parties' declared commitments to the continuation of the prisoner swap, the process has stalled since then.

Despite the agreement, a sustainable ceasefire has not yet been achieved. On July 17, 2019, during the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, the participants agreed to the latest ceasefire. For the first time, it was supplemented by additional control measures, which included the publication of ceasefire orders, a ban on sabotage activities, the deployment of weapons in settlements and near them, as well as a ban on the opening of any kind of fire.

Fighting for the control of two breakaway provinces in Ukraine's east has killed around 13,000 people, according to the United Nations' latest estimates.