Home › Security › What Ukraine's Steinmeier formula step meant
What Ukraine's Steinmeier formula step meant
Summary
A look back at the commitment Kyiv made on 1 October 2019 within the Minsk peace framework for the Donbas.
What did Ukraine actually agree to when it accepted the "Steinmeier formula"? The question was live on 2 October 2019, a day after Kyiv's move within the Minsk process on 1 October 2019.
As reported at the time, Ukraine agreed to the formula in the Minsk Protocol framework. It was aimed at granting a special self-governing status to the Donbass and organising elections validated by the OSCE and held according to Ukrainian law.
The framework behind it
The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements that sought to end the Donbas War, fought between armed Russian separatist groups, backed by Russian regular forces, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Talks were held in Minsk, Belarus, involving the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, made up of representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE. France and Germany mediated through the Normandy Format. The first Minsk Protocol was signed in September 2014.
Why the terms mattered
The formula tied two elements together: a special self-governing status for the Donbass and elections under Ukrainian law, with the OSCE validating the vote. The role given to the OSCE and to Ukrainian law set the conditions under which that status would be applied.
The step placed Kyiv's commitment inside the existing Minsk framework rather than creating a new one.
