16:32 25.05.2015

We'll hold free, fair municipal elections in Donetsk, Luhansk based on Ukrainian law – Yatseniuk

2 min read
We'll hold free, fair municipal elections in Donetsk, Luhansk based on Ukrainian law – Yatseniuk

Ukraine will grant special status to Donetsk and Luhansk regions but free and fair municipal elections in Donetsk and Luhansk based on Ukrainian legislation and international standards should be held first, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has said.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Yatseniuk said that the Minsk agreements clearly state that free and fair municipal elections in Donetsk and Luhansk regions in line with Ukrainian legislation must take place.

"So we asked the ODIHR [the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights] to confirm whether the criterion that exists in Donetsk and Luhansk meets the standards of the OSCE and ODIHR. So we are ready to hold free and fair elections. But there is no chance to hold these kind of elections under the barrel of the Russian gun," Yatseniuk said.

"So, it's clearly in line with the Minsk deal: pull back your forces first, secure the area. Create the preconditions for free and fair elections. We will hold elections, and the new, legitimate government will get the special status. Otherwise we cannot grant this special status to terrorists. We want to talk to legitimately elected officials from Donetsk and Luhansk," he added.

In particular, he said that the real key precondition is to have a ceasefire.

"I always say, look, if this is the ceasefire, explain to me what [a cease]fire means. We have lost about 90 Ukrainian soldiers after the ceasefire was put in place, more than [have been] 400 injured," Yatseniuk said.

He said that the next precondition is to pull back ground troops and pull back heavy artillery.

"You know what they did? They pulled them [heavy weapons] back, into the kindergartens, garages and supermarkets," he said.

He went on to say that securing the border is also crucial.

"We do understand that Russia is not eager to implement this crucial part of the Minsk deal," he added.

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