Putin requires Ukraine to extend law on "special status" of Donbass

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Ukraine should extend the term of the law on the special status of Donbass, otherwise he does not see "what can be said at all". This was stated by Putin to journalists after the BRICS summit in Brazil, - Hromadske reports.

"We hear from the top officials of Ukraine that another law on the special status of Donbass could be adopted. Which one? This is absolutely key thing. If something that is not coordinated with the "LNR" and "DNR" is adopted, everything will instantly reach a deadlock", - he said.

Putin believes that then the "Steinmeier formula" also loses its meaning, because it is "only a tool for the implementation of the law on the special status".

The Russian president also recalled that the current law expires on December 31, 2019.

"The term expires on the 31st, what is next? What will we do in the Normandy format? This is generally a key issue", - he said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier stated that the law "on the special status" will be new, but this status will not be recorded in the Constitution of Ukraine.

The current law "On the special procedure for local self-government in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts" provides that the provisions on the "special status" will come into force after the holding of democratic elections in CADLO and withdrawal of mercenaries.