Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksandr Turchynov has rejected the possibility of declaring the areas in Donbas controlled by militants an occupied territory, the parliament's press service has reported.

"We need not to declare something, but to liberate the territory. And our task is not to turn Donbas into a frozen conflict zone. Any actions in the east can be considered only from this viewpoint. Therefore I rule out a format in which Ukraine would agree to Russia controlling part of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," he said in an interview with the Focus magazine.

Turchynov said he was "very skeptical about them [Russia] wanting to peacefully get out of Ukraine."

"I think they will do all they can to disrupt the peace talks and continue aggression against Ukraine," he said.

At the same time, he said that if a peaceful way to resolve the situation in Donbas brings no results, there would be no alternative to imposing martial law in the region.

"If Donbas is not cleared peacefully, we will have no alternative to clear it of invaders by imposing martial law and mobilizing all of the resources of the country. I am also convinced that if the Russian aggression does not stop, we will be able to see the effect of such sanctions from the West, which will lead to the economic collapse of the Russian Federation," Turchynov said.

He said that the possibility of introducing martial law was envisaged by the constitution.

"If the path of peace brings no results, alternative we will have no alternative to imposing martial law and mobilizing all of the resources of the country," he said.

When asked whether the Verkhovna Rada has sufficient votes for the introduction of martial law, Turchynov said that "only the president submits this question for discussion by the NSDC, then he signs a decree on the introduction of martial law, and this decree should be supported with most votes in parliament."

"If the president makes the decision to submit such a decree, the parliament will always support it," he said.