European Solidary against elections during war - Poroshenko
The European Solidarity Party is against elections during war, its leader Petro Poroshenko has said.
"Our team has always been and is categorically against elections during war. Unlike the government, which takes money from the army, tries to buy votes, and also eliminates political opponents with unconstitutional and extrajudicial sanctions, which is a politically motivated persecution and a scenario for preparing for elections," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
According to Poroshenko, elections are possible after a ceasefire and the signing of a peace agreement with security guarantees for Ukraine and should be held no later than 180 days after the end of martial law. He stressed that the upcoming elections should be free, democratic, which will ensure the expression of the will of citizens and the trust of the free world.
Poroshenko also spoke about the cooperation of his political force with American partners.
"We work publicly and transparently with our American partners, with the goal of maintaining bipartisan support for Ukraine... The essence of our conversations with representatives of the American side has always come down to two principles - security first and peace through strength. Namely, weapons, intelligence, sanctions against Russia, financial support, democratic resilience (freedom and democracy), transatlantic unity," Poroshenko noted.
He emphasized that in his communications with allies, he always insists on increasing arms supplies, strengthening sanctions against Russia and on those red lines that are unacceptable to cross in peace negotiations.
Poroshenko also said European Solidarity has repeatedly offered to coordinate these meetings with the government, including inviting the ambassador to them, and has also repeatedly publicly spoken about the lack of communication between the government team and the American administration, which creates a risk for the state.
"Our key task today is to protect the interests of Ukraine and ensure its European development. This is the task of every Ukrainian politician, regardless of their affiliation with the government or the opposition," the party leader noted.
Earlier Thursday, Politico reported, citing unnamed sources, that four senior officials from Donald Trump's inner circle held secret talks with, among others, lawmakers from factions led by Yulia Tymoshenko and Poroshenko. The discussions centered on whether Ukraine could hold quick presidential elections. Politico notes that both Tymoshenko and Poroshenko have publicly opposed holding elections before the fighting ends. However, they allegedly positioned themselves as "people who are easier to work with" and "people who will agree to a lot of things that Zelenskyy won't."