Kyiv, April 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Communist Party of Ukraine stands for a step-by-step transition to federalization of Ukraine, leader of the party Petro Symonenko has said.

"We stand for the federalization of the country. We suggest conducting a step-by-step transition to a federal system in Ukraine with guarantees of Ukraine' s unity stated in the constitution. Issues of federalization depth and framework are to be discussed and put to a referendum; but the decision must be made – this is the only step that will allow fully consideration of the peculiarities and interests of the regions. It will allow considering regions' interests and specifics more profoundly," he said during the press conference at Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

"Federalization is a guarantee that the center won' t interfere in the regions' affairs. Decentralization, in a form suggested by the government, doesn' t guarantee that the received authority won' t be taken away from regions by the central government the next day," the politician added.

Also, according to him, the Communists Party stands for the non-aligned status of the country, restoring relations with Russia and Ukraine' s membership of the Customs Union and Eurasian Economic Commission; but the future of the country must be decided by its people in a referendum.

In addition, Symonenko thinks that the country must break the credit relations with the IMF and review discriminative conditions of Ukraine' s membership in the WTO.

Within the country, new Labor Code must be adopted, anti-constitutional pension reform must be abolished and welfare rate must be raised.

He thinks that it is necessary to adopt new wording of Ukraine' s Constitution and finish the transition from presidential-parliamentary to parliamentary system without the institution of the presidency at all.

"After stabilizing the socio-political situation, preparing constitutional and political reforms, the presidential office must be eliminated or entrusted only with representative functions," Symonenko said.