A Sich special volunteer battalion member holds his children on August 26, 2014 during an oath-taking and farewell ceremony in Kiev. (Xinhua/AFP)
The confirmation of the Steinmeier formula is an important step towards the implementation of previous agreements concerning the peaceful settlement of eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
MOSCOW, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The acceptance by Kiev of the Steinmeier formula envisaging elections in eastern Ukraine is a "positive fact" paving the way for a settlement in the separatist region, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
"The very confirmation of the Steinmeier formula, which was incidentally accepted by all the members of the Normandy Four, including Ukraine, several years ago, is a positive fact and, of course, is an important step towards the implementation of those agreements that were reached earlier," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The Trilateral Contact Group on the peaceful settlement of the Donbass situation, including diplomats from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Tuesday agreed on the plan named after incumbent German President and former OSCE Chairman Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The implementation of the formula will require changes in Ukraine's legislation.
Peskov said that it was not clear yet when a meeting to firm up the formula between the leaders of the Normandy Four -- France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia -- might take place.
"Now, of course, all interested parties and representatives will work on the prospects of holding such a summit. We hope that in the near future some clarity will come here," Peskov said. ■
