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Kiev delays agreement on election modalities with Donbas on purpose — Russian diplomat

Russia’s OSCE envoy Alexander Lukashevich welcomes the effort of the Contact Group and its working subgroups but notes that no progress on the key political issues is seen now
Russia’s OSCE envoy Alexander Lukashevich Mikhail Pochuev/TASS
Russia’s OSCE envoy Alexander Lukashevich
© Mikhail Pochuev/TASS

MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. Kiev will make every effort to delay the implementation of the Minsk deal and its political issues envisaging the agreement with Donbas representatives on modalities of local elections, Russia’s OSCE envoy Alexander Lukashevich said.

"Kiev must not try to impose the existing legislation but should work constructively with Donetsk and Luhansk on working out mutually acceptable modalities of elections," Lukashevich told the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on Ukraine in Vienna on Thursday.

The text of the statement was posted on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday.

"We understand that it will be difficult to pass through the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) this compromise agreement meeting the goals of the peaceful settlement," Lukashevich said.

"But without this the talks on bringing the part of the state border again under Ukraine’s control are impossible," he added.

The diplomat welcomed the effort of the Contact Group and its working subgroups but noted that no progress on the key political issues is seen now. "The language of ultimatums is not appropriate here," he said.