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Ukraine's president denies Donbass reintegration law contradicts Minsk accords

Poroshenko stresses the law on the reintegration of Donbass passed on January 18 does not run counter to the Minsk agreements

© Mikhail Palinchak/Press Office of the President of Ukraine/TASS

KIEV, January 22. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko maintained on Monday that the law on the reintegration of Donbass passed on January 18 does not run counter to the Minsk agreements.

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Russia not responsible for situation in Donbass — Kremlin

"Neither the spirit nor the letter of this law goes against the Minsk agreements as some want to depict it. Ukraine unwaveringly abides by and will continue to abide by its international commitments," the president told a briefing.

Donbass reintegration law

On January 18, the Verkhovna Rada passed a bill dubbed "On the special aspects of state policy aimed at ensuring Ukraine’s state sovereignty over the temporarily occupied areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions," which had been submitted by President Pyotr Poroshenko and is known as the Donbass reintegration bill. The document labels the areas not controlled by Kiev as "temporarily occupied" and empowers the president with the right to use armed forces inside the country without the Rada’s consent. It also provides for setting up joint operation headquarters of the Ukrainian armed forces to control all military units and military-civil administration in the conflict zone. In addition, all references to the Minsk Agreements have been removed from the document.

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