TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In a historic move by Ukraine's Parliament Tuesday, the country ratified the European Union (EU) pact of association and passed a law that grants a temporary, semi-autonomous status for its conflict ridden eastern region.
The ratification which was done through voting is expected to steer the former Soviet republic towards the West.
However, Russia has implied to have no intention of backing out from the most serious conflict between the East and West since the Cold War ended. In fact, Russia has announced its plans to increase its military presence in the Crimean Peninsula which Russia had annexed earlier in the year.
EU and Ukraine's Parliament voted to ratify the political and economic association deal - the rejection of which by Ukraine's previous administration caused the worst crisis in Ukraine since it gained independence in 1991.
The Parliament in Kiev also agreed on granting semi-autonomous statuses for its eastern provinces that are currently held by pro-Russian militias. Furthermore, in accordance to the ceasefire agreement signed 11 days ago, Kiev has also agreed on granting amnesties to pro-Russian rebels who had fought against Ukraine's military in an effort to end the five-month conflict.
The key figures within the rebel ranks are cautiously responding to Kiev's actions, although in the past couple of days they made it clear that their sole demand was to secede from Ukraine.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said that the ratification of the 1,200-page EU association pact is Ukraine's first step towards becoming a member of the 28-state union, the EU.
Antara News | Fitri Supratiwi