Donetsk, Dec 15 - DAN. The prolongation of the law on special status by the Ukrainian parliament is a formality that does not contribute to real implementation of the Minsk Agreements, Donetsk People’s Republic representative at the Contact Group talks, DPR Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, a majority of Ukrainian lawmakers supported the prolongation of the law on “special status” till December 31, 2021.

“The law on “special status” was prolonged today, but this changes nothing; it’s formal prolongation of the first formal article of this law,” Nikonorova said during DPR Head Denis Pushilin’s Direct Line call-in session with the Republic’s residents.

The Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, approved by the Contact Group in 2015, envisions a constitutional reform in Ukraine which must result in deep decentralisation. Special status for Donbass is a key point of the political part of the agreements. Kiev has to coordinate its decisions with DPR and LPR representatives.*jk