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Poroshenko rules out referendum on secession of Donbas

"I will never let the issue of Donbas’ secession be brought up at the all-Ukraine referendum," he said

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko EPA/TASS/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko

© EPA/TASS/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

KIEV, June 5./TASS/. President Petro Poroshenko has ruled out the possibility of a referendum on secession of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

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"I will never let the issue of Donbas’ secession be brought up at the all-Ukraine referendum," he said.

The president said only broadening of powers in certain areas could be discussed.

He didn't, however, rule out holding a referendum on the status of Donbas within Ukraine "to ask Ukrainians how they see the future of Donbas". "However, within Ukraine, I underscore this," the president added.

The head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc’s parliamentary faction, Yuri Lutsenko, earlier suggested holding a referendum on granting special status to some regions of Donbas simultaneously with the local elections scheduled for October 25.

Snap parliamentary elections in Ukraine ruled out

Poroshenko also said he opposes holding early elections of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada lawmakers.

"Early parliamentary elections, you won’t get them," Poroshenko told a press conference. "Today Ukraine has a constitutional coalition and this gives us the responsibility to carry out constitutional changes," he said.

Poroshenko noted that the "restart of power has taken place and what is left is to restart power at the local level."

The parliamentary elections were held on October 26. According to the Central Election Commission, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc won most of the seats (132), while People’s Front of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk came second with 82 seats.

A ruling coalition was formed in the parliament that consists of representatives of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, the People’s Front, Samopomich (Self-Help), the Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko and Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna. The coalition was called the European Ukraine and it includes 306 lawmakers.

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