Groysman: Local elections in occupied parts of Donbas can't be held right now

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Head of the Constitutional Commission Volodymyr Groysman has said he believes it is currently impossible to hold adequate local elections in areas of Donbas uncontrolled by the Ukrainian government.

"No, I currently don't see adequate elections being held there," he said in an interview with "Novy Chas" weekly on Friday.

Groysman said that according to the Minsk agreements the ceasefire must first be upheld, weapons must be withdrawn, hostages released, and then the elections should be prepared without weapons and pressure, which would also correspond with Ukrainian laws.

"The can elect someone who isn't a criminal or murderer. And that will be their choice and their responsibility. Of course, if there are [threatened] with a machine gun at the voting station, if there are people of not very pleasant appearance standing there in the camouflage with machineguns, [Donbas residents] will have to wait as they are told," he said.

Groysman added that Russia is responsible for the crisis and noted that Ukraine is not engaged in a civil war and that the central authorities didn't threaten the residents of Donbas.