The European Union highly appreciates the agreements reached within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk on October 1 and hopes for a lasting peaceful solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Maja Kocijancic, the spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, said this in comments to an Ukrinform correspondent.

“The outcome of the Trilateral Contact Group deliberations in Minsk yesterday, including with regard to the so-called Steinmeier formula, is a step that could hopefully lead to further efforts towards the full implementation of the Minsk agreements by all parties. This, for its part, is key to reaching a lasting peaceful solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The European Union has consistently supported the work of the Normandy Four format, Trilateral Contact Group, and the OSCE in their efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The EU remains steadfast in fully supporting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,” the EU spokesperson said.

As Ukrinform reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 1 that Ukraine had approved the text of the so-called "Steinmeier formula." According to him, it provides for the adoption in Ukraine of a temporary law on a special status for Donbas, which will be permanent if the OSCE recognizes local elections in these territories as democratic.

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