DONETSK, September 8 (RIA Novosti) - The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) will remain an independent state, any kind of "special status" is out of the question, the DPR’s first deputy prime minister told RIA Novosti on Monday.
"DPR is an independent sovereign state. If its status is agreed with someone from the outside, in particular, with Kiev, then its policy will also be determined by someone from the outside," Alexander Karaman said.
The OSCE report on the results of the meeting in Minsk on September 5 involves Ukraine adopting a law granting special status to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as holding early elections. DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko has already mentioned that the self-proclaimed republics will seek independence. He stressed that the point of the special status in the Minsk Protocol is not final.
During the September 5 meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine, representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), agreed to a ceasefire between Kiev and independence supporters that started at 15:00 GMT the same day. The main provisions of the ceasefire are the cessation of hostilities and the exchange of prisoners.
Ukraine has been engulfed in violent internal conflict since mid-April, when Kiev began its military operation against independence supporters in the southeastern regions of the country.
