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Donbass elections in line with Minsk agreements despite London’s claims, says Moscow

The decision to hold elections in the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR was taken after the murder of DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko

LONDON, November 1. /TASS/. The elections set to take place in the self-proclaimed Donbass republics on November 11 do not contradict the Minsk agreements, despite London’s claims to the contrary, a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in London told reporters on Thursday, in response to the statement by UK’s Permanent Representative to the UN Karen Pierce.

"The elections in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), set to take place on November 11, are held due to the emergence of a power vacuum after the murder of [former DPR head] Alexander Zakharchenko, which has raised suspicions over the destabilizing activity carried out by Ukraine in the east. This event should not impede the day-to-day affairs in the region; people in Donbass must go on with their business to make ends meet in the context of permanent blockade and threats of force by Kiev. The proposed elections have nothing to do with the Minsk agreements, which only concern the municipal elections," the embassy noted.

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On October 30, during a session of the UN Security Council, Pierce stated that the upcoming elections in the LPR and the DPR are illegitimate, as they violate the Minsk agreements.

The decision to hold elections in the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR was taken after the murder of DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko. Moscow said holding local elections in Donbass is a necessary measure in current conditions. Russia's envoy to the Contact Group on Ukraine Boris Gryzlov said that the Package of Measures signed in Minsk only regulates the municipal elections in Donbass. Since the election of DPR and LPR’s leaders and members of parliaments is not qualified as municipal, it does not contradict the Minsk process, he added.

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