MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. A three-year period will be required to adapt the legislation of the Zaporozhye Region in case it decides to join the territory of the Russian Federation, while a plan of action on this issue is already being drafted, head of the Zaporozhye Region’s military-civilian administration Yevgeny Balitsky said on Thursday.
"We will be faced with an approximately three-year transition period," Balitsky, who arrived in Moscow on Wednesday, said. "It is all connected with the cadastral system of the territory and the real estate registry as well as the tax payment system," Balitsky said speaking on air of Russia’s Rossiya-24 television channel adding that the road map on this issue was currently drafted.
"There will be a host of factors, including telephone communications and tax system issues," he continued.
Balitsky also stated that: "We have a road map, which is not yet approved by the Cabinet of Ministers… We will finalize it," he said. "It will be finalized and we will follow its provisions gradually in order to avoid discomfort."
From September 23 to September 27, the Donetsk and the Lugansk People’s Republics as well as the Kherson Region and the liberated areas of the Zaporozhye Region held a referendum where the majority of voters opted to join Russia as separate constituent members.
Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier on Thursday that the official signing ceremony uniting the four new territories with Russia will be held on Friday, September 30, at 3 p.m. in the Kremlin.
Peskov added that Putin will meet with the heads of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in the Kremlin, on the event’s sidelines. "Of course, on the sidelines of this ceremony these meetings will take place," Peskov assured.
The treaties uniting the territories with the Russian Federation will be signed before the Federation Council considers related issues. "In any case, there will be a signing first," Peskov pointed out, responding to a question about why the event was scheduled for September 30 and the Federation Council meeting only for October 4.
Referendums on becoming part of Russia were held in the DPR and the LPR, as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions from September 23 to 27. In the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, the ballot question read as follows: "Are you in favor of the region leaving Ukraine, creating an independent state, and joining the Russian Federation?" Earlier, Putin said that Moscow would support the decision made during these referendums.