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Poroshenko warns of “adequate reaction” to elections in Donetsk and Lugansk

These elections, according to Poroshenko, are “a flagrant violation of the Minsk protocol of September 5”

KIEV, November 2. /TASS/. Ukraine’s President Pyotr Poroshenko has threatened to offer an “adequate reaction” to violations of the Ukrainian laws over the elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics /DPR and LPR, respectively/.

“The Minsk protocol provides for a possibility of early local elections in certain districts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions exclusively on the basis of Ukraine’s laws. That is why the flagrant violation of international agreements threatened the entire peace process. Ukraine will offer an adequate reaction to this challenge,” the website of the Ukrainian head of state quoted Poroshenko as saying on Sunday.

These elections, according to Poroshenko, are “a flagrant violation of the Minsk protocol of September 5.”

Last week, on October 29, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement stressing that the elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics were in full compliance with the Minsk agreements. It said that the position the leaders of self-defense forces of the two republics have taken on the November 2 elections is justified and stands fully in line with the accords reached at conferences of the Contact Group for Ukraine in Minsk in September.

“All the references to the law on a special administrative regime for the aforesaid territories, which President Poroshenko signed October 16 and which set the date of elections at December 7, run counter to the Minsk accords,” the ministry said. The date, according to the ministry, was fixed unilaterally, without being agreed with the Donetsk and Lugansk militias.

The ministry said the above law could not be implemented in practice as not fixing concrete areas of its application. “The issue has been suspended till an additional resolution of the Verkhovna Rada /Ukraine’s parliament/. But this resolution cannot be passed, since Kiev has withdrawn its signature under the document establishing the coordinates of the division line between the Ukrainian army and the militias,” the ministry said.

Next day, the leaders of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics came out with a statement saying Kiev had breached the tripartite agreement on independent elections to local self-governments in Donbass in the period from October 19 to November 3.

“In strict compliance with these agreements, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics have passed a declaration on people’s self-government and a document on early elections to local self-governments. These documents /laws in these republics/ appoint the elections on November 2. Now Kiev has changed its mind and insists elections be postponed to December 7,” the statement said.