MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is concerned about the statement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about possible revision of the Minsk Agreements.
"There is no way [to settle the situation in eastern Ukraine] but through the Minsk Agreements. Of course, I am seriously concerned about the statement made by President Zelensky in regard to the possibility of revision after his departure from Paris. If a revision of the Minsk Agreements begins, the whole situation may end up at an impasse," Putin said during his end-of-year press conference on Thursday.
"The law on the special status of Donbas, which must be enshrined in the Ukrainian fundamental law, the Constitution, is the key to the Minsk Agreements," he said.
Ukraine has extended the law on the special status of Donbas for one year, Putin said.
That has been done "although we, not just me but other parties to the Normandy format, too, keep saying that it should become permanent and be enshrined in the Constitution," he said.
It seems that "neither the former Ukrainian administration nor the incumbent one wants to do so, although this is unavoidable," Putin said.
"There is a need for direct dialogue between Kyiv and Donbas, which is also not present," he said.
The Ukrainian authorities said they had made a number of decentralization decisions, Putin said. "But what is that? Is that a substitute for the Minsk Agreements? Or for the special status law? Can you imagine that? Yes, you can. However, the [Minsk] Agreements say that everything related to Donbas must be coordinated with these regions. There is no coordination, and that's disquieting," he said.