Ukraine's parliament passes bill on Donbas's special status

Макроэкономика 18.03.2015 Yesterday, the Ukrainian parliament passed the bill mandated by the ceasefire agreement reached in Minsk this February requiring Ukraine to grant special status to the regions currently occupied by pro-Kremlin militants supported by the Russian army. President Poroshenko submitted the bill which lawmakers of the coalition passed after heavy deliberation both internally and with the president himself. The law contains wording that ties special status, which had yet to be defined in the September 2014 Minsk 1 ceasefire agreement that failed, with a range of measures that subsequently require the militants to allow the following: 1) freedom of speech; 2) restoration of Ukrainian radio and TV broadcasts as well as the circulation of printed media; 3) democratic elections in accordance with Ukrainian law; and 4) withdrawal of all weaponry and illegal military units. In a wily response yesterday, Alexander Zakharchenko, the self-proclaimed leader of the Donetsk pro-Kremlin militants, claimed that Ukraine authorities were not fulfilling the Minsk 2 requirement of Donbas self-governance and then urged his followers to seize more cities and villages of the Donbas that last year agreed to a "phony" referendum for Donbas self-governance when they under militant control. By his logic, he could use this as a bargaining chip with Kyiv in the future. The situation remains quite tricky. The success of Minsk 2 is still riddled with numerous risks which may derail it. Only the West holds the key to success as it can pressure the Kremlin to compromise by threatening more severe sanctions if Minsk 2 fails.