MINSK. Aug 23 (Interfax) - Kyiv is getting tougher on Donbas, the Russian representative in the Contact Group on Ukraine, Boris Gryzlov, said.
"Kyiv is stepping up the economic and transport blockade of Donbas, which fully contradicts the Minsk agreements," Gryzlov told journalists on Wednesday.
It is still unclear why the issue of all-for-all prisoner release is being delayed, Gryzlov said.
"The Contact Group has by and large verified the prisoner lists. But the actual swap is being thwarted by Ukraine not having an effective law on amnesty for Donbas combatants," Gryzlov said.
The three-year validity period of a Ukrainian law granting a special status to Donbas expires in October, the Russian representative said. "The special status is the foundation of the Minsk agreements. This is why, first of all, the Russian delegation is raising the issue of a prolongation of this law. Secondly, the sabotaging by Kyiv of the enactment of this law under the Steinmeier formula delays implementation of the Minsk Agreements as a whole," Gryzlov said.
Russia has repeatedly stressed that it is difficult to tackle other issues without progress in settlement of the political ones, he said.