"To put it mildly, there is some breakthrough in the Contact Group. If previously there was complete misunderstanding, an entire wall, we now see some interest [from Kiev] fueled by guarantor countries," Plotnitsky said.
Nonetheless, the breakaway republic's leader observed violations of the ceasefire deal reached in the Belarusian capital of Minsk over a month ago.
According to the text of the Minsk agreement signed on February 12, the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) had 30 days since the deal took effect to adopt a resolution indicating the special regime status of eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The 13-point peace deal also envisioned Kiev's decentralization of power ahead of wider constitutional reform in the country, a ceasefire, which became effective on February 15, and heavy weaponry withdrawal from the line of contact.
The leaders of the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk have repeatedly urged Kiev to grant them more autonomy.
