10:15 22.02.2017

Yanukovych proposes holding Donbas status referendum

2 min read
Yanukovych proposes holding Donbas status referendum

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has proposed a set of measures towards settling the conflict in eastern Ukraine and suggested that a referendum on Donbas's status should be held in the event Kyiv fails to implement the Minsk Agreements.

"To engage representatives of the protesting side representing the Donbas people in the Normandy format negotiations and to initiate a referendum on Donbas's status in the event the incumbent Ukrainian authorities fail to implement the Minsk agreements," Yanukovych said in listing his suggestions in an open letter to the leaders of Poland, France and Germany, heads of non-governmental organizations, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Yanukovych proposed "initiating the creation of an ad hoc commission of the Council of Europe to monitor the inquiry into crimes committed on Maidan, consistent with clause four of the agreement on settling the Ukraine political crisis dated February 21, 2014."

In addition, the former Ukrainian president called for demanding that the Ukrainian authorities give representatives of the Council of Europe's ad hoc commission and the current Ukrainian opposition access to monitoring an investigation into "crimes committed in Ukraine since 2014."

"To demand that the Ukrainian authorities begin a real investigation into killings and other grave crimes perpetrated on Maidan against law enforcement officials performing their duties to maintain public order and protect the constitutional system of Ukraine. To demand that the Ukrainian authorities repeal Ukrainian law No 743-VII dated February 21, 2014, which banned prosecution and punishment of individuals for the events that happened during peaceful demonstrations and invalidated certain Ukrainian laws," the message said.

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