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Donbass republics guarantee security for observers and media at local election

DPR and LPR envoys note that the Minsk Agreements do no envisage presence in Donbass republics of any international police forces which Kiev has been calling for lately

© Stanislav Grigoriev/TASS

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MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics (DPR and LPR) guarantee security for international observers and media at local election in Donbass that is envisaged by the Minsk Agreements, the joint statement of the envoys of DPR and LPR to the Contact Group Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego said on Tuesday.

"Law enforcement agencies of Donbass people’s republics are ready to guarantee full security for international observers, representatives of world media during the elections," Donetsk News Agency quoted the joint statement as saying.

Pushilin and Deinego noted that the Minsk Agreements do no envisage presence in Donbass republics of any international police forces which Kiev has been calling for lately. "The defining part of holding election is, as before, Kiev’s fulfillment of its political commitments," the statement added.

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LPR says can ensure security at local election, no need in international police mission

"In order for the elections to take place, Kiev should not look for a pretext to start a military intervention in Donbass but rather adopt amendments to Ukraine’s constitution and law on special status coordinated with us (DPR and LPR), as well as develop the law on election together," the envoys concluded.

Local election in Donbass is envisaged by the Minsk accords signed on 12 February 2015, after negotiations in the so-called "Normandy format" in the Belarusian capital Minsk, bringing together Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The package of measures also envisages ceasefire, weaponry withdrawal, prisoner exchange, constitutional reform in Ukraine and establishing working sub-groups on security, political, economy and humanitarian components of the Minsk accords.

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Ukraine crisis Elections

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