Yatseniuk points to four conditions for Donbas elections

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has announced main conditions for elections to be held in Donbas during a televised "Ten Minutes" on Sunday, October 18, a Cabinet spokesperson said.

"With regard to elections in Donbas that is temporarily controlled by Russian gangsters and terrorists: of course, elections should be held there. And to that end, a separate law is needed. But there are very clear conditions for elections to be held in Donbas," he stressed.

The first one is that "no one will hold elections at the point of Russian automatic rifles. They must leave Ukraine and comply with the Minsk agreements," Yatseniuk said.

"The one and a half million of temporarily displaced persons registered in Ukraine must be allowed to vote in these elections and elect those who will represent local authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk," said the head of government.

The third condition: elections must be held strictly in accordance with the Ukrainian laws and the high standards of an honest and transparent election, Yatseniuk said

"Fourth: we must ensure political competition in Donetsk and Luhansk both through mass media access to these territories and by allowing all Ukrainian parties to take part in these elections and send their candidates there," he said.

"And the Russian idea to legalize this enclave through elections and grant terrorists the status of local councilors will not work," Yatseniuk said.