The Ukrainian crisis can be resolved by means of the implementation of the Steinmeier formula, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The news conference was aired by the German Welt television channel.
"It should be said out of respect to the just elected German president [Frank-Walter Steinmeier] that everyone shares the opinion that the way out of this situation is the Steinmeier formula. It regulates the sequence of actions," he said.
A peace settlement of the conflict in Donbass rests on the Package of Measures, known as Minsk-2, that was signed by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising senior representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the European security watchdog OSCE on February 12, 2015, after marathon 16-hour talks between the leaders of the Normandy Four nations, namely Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine. The 13-point document envisages a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and the people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk and the subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact. The deal also lays out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including an amnesty, prisoner swaps, the resumption of economic ties, local elections and constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions. The Steinmeier formula was suggested by former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as a mechanism of granting a special status to Donbass.
The peace plan remains unimplemented to this day, largely due to Ukraine’s stance. Kiev keeps on refusing to act on the political items of the agreement, citing security problems as a reason.
