13:18 18.08.2015

Kravchuk stands for isolation of uncontrolled Donbas territory

1 min read
Kravchuk stands for isolation of uncontrolled Donbas territory

Donbas areas controlled by the armed units opposed to Kyiv should be fully isolated from the rest of Ukraine, First Ukrainian President (1991-1994) Leonid Kravchuk has said.

"We should cut off this territory until we are able to free it," Kravchuk told the weekly Novoye Vremia in an interview published on Tuesday.

He thinks that "economic, political and other relations" with the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics must stop. "There are people living on the territory uncontrolled by Ukraine, they want a new life, let them be taken off the pedestal as the administration has been taken off at Kyiv's Maidan," Kravchuk said.

"Donbas has always been a problem. True, we have made many mistakes and we have not profoundly addressed these issues. But, in my opinion, a caged wolf will always yearn to run into the woods no matter how well you feed it," he said.

While Donbas stays beyond Kyiv's control, Ukrainian authorities on the controlled territory "should hold reforms and elections, build a new life and fight corruption," he said. "Not only Ukrainians but also the West are tired of our inactivity. This cannot go on for long," the first president said.

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