The most sensitive aspect of the Steinmeier formula is that it allows local elections to take place in the occupied parts of Ukraine before Russian-backed forces have withdrawn, and Kiev has control of the border.
Though elections in Donetsk and Luhansk would be monitored by observers from the OSCE and would in theory be under Ukrainian law, it's hard to see how they would be fairly contested.
Most people with strongly pro-Ukrainian views have long ago left the occupied areas for their own safety. So it seems almost inevitable that the elections would consolidate the position of the Russia-aligned leaders who are currently in place, granting them the recognition Moscow has long craved.
With Ukraine having allowed the election to go ahead, and then granting the region's special status, it would then be up to Russia to honour its part of the deal, withdraw its weapons and hand over control of the Ukrainian side of the common border.
It's not hard to see why President Zelensky's critics see this as a major concession, if not a capitulation.

What reaction has there been?
Russia has backed the Ukrainian move and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he expected a summit to take place soon.
Mr Zelensky's predecessor as president, Petro Poroshenko, was damning of the deal, referring to it as "Putin's formula", while ex-Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin was dubious about the chances of free and fair elections.
"Society will be demanding answers, and these answers should not be solving the issue of Donbas occupation at Ukraine's expense," he said.
One former Ukrainian negotiator warned it was a "path to war, not to peace", while rock singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, who leads the Voice party in Ukraine, called on the president to explain the concessions he was ready to make.
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