Civil society organizations that are members of the international platform CivilM+ suggest establishing an independent group of civic consultations for the Minsk talks on Donbas. Below are the key points of the joint statement signed by NGOs from Ukraine, Russia and the EU:

• the status of the Russian Federation as the side which is responsible for the outcomes of military aggression in eastern Ukraine, with relevant sanctions and trials, both on national and international levels, should remain unaltered,
• any legitimisation of the self-proclaimed “DPR” and “LPR” is unacceptable,
• while promoting such a complicated topic as reconciliation, the state must be extremely careful and balanced in selecting its speakers, and be very attentive to every word.

Within CivilM+ platform, NGOs from Ukraine and Russia gather around one table. The platform is ready to share its experience and suggest establishing an independent group of civic consultations in support of the Minsk talks.

Read the full CivilM+ statement here.