Angelina Timofeeva. Meeting of legal experts of the "Norman Quartet" in Ukraine began in Berlin in the premises of the German foreign Ministry.

The participants intend to discuss the progress of constitutional reform in Ukraine, the issues of decentralization and legal situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

From the Russian side the meeting is attended by the Acting Director of the legal Department of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexey Dronov and Deputy permanent envoy of the Russian Federation to the OSCE Andrey Rudenko, confirmed Last news in the Russian Embassy in Germany.

Moscow insisted on participation in these consultations authorized Donetsk and Lugansk national republics, said yesterday in Sevastopol, the head of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S. Lavrov In.. the reason for this format laid down in the Minsk agreements, which provide for the approval of constitutional changes between Kiev, Donetsk and Luhansk, associated With the decentralization of powers in favor proclaimed republics. However, as said Last news a source in the German foreign Ministry, the participation of the authorized DND and LNR in the meeting is not provided.

Lavrov also said that he had received from his German colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier guarantee that the participants of the meeting on Thursday committed to the Minsk agreements and we are going to work to ensure their full implementation.

The official representative of the German foreign Ministry of Sawsan Chebli expressed hope that the sides reach " common understanding of how to move forward in the implementation of the Minsk agreements and that it will give an impetus to the discussion on him."

The Ukrainian authorities began in April last year in the Donbass military operation against dissatisfied with the coup d'etat of residents of the region. According to the summary data of the UN, the victims of the conflict began more than 6, 8 thousand people. The settlement of the situation in the Donbass is discussed, as well as among them, during meetings in Minsk contact group, which Since September of last year already took 3 of the document governing the steps to de-escalate the conflict.

The last document is dated 12 February - in addition to the ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons and creating a security zone requires the Authorities of Ukraine to engage in direct dialogue With the authorized DND and LNR, for example, on the issue of conduct in local elections, entering into the Constitution of Ukraine of change, involving the decentralization of Power, as well as on the issue of legislative recognition of the special status " of certain districts of Donetsk and Lugansk regions ".

sections: Politics