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Diplomat: New Ukraine Rada's balance of powers may hamper adoption of Donbass election law

Rhetoric that Kiev uses in the context of the settlement, reflects internal political friction on all power levels, Russia's envoy to the OSCE says

© AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

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Ruling coalition in Ukraine’s parliament breaks up as Samopomich faction exits

VIENNA, February 18. /TASS/. The changing balance of powers in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada may hamper adoption of laws necessary for holding local election in Donbass, Russia’s envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich told TASS on Thursday.

"There are doubts that the balance of power will allow the Ukrainian leadership to adopt corresponding laws," Lukashevich said. "International friction in political elite creates further difficulties," he added.

The diplomat noted that "rhetoric that Kiev uses in the context of the settlement, reflects internal political friction on all power levels." "That is why different preconditions are sought and accusations are made against Russia over implementation of the Package of measures," he said. "Instead of fulfilling clearly stated commitments and implementing consistent steps, the process of strengthening a military group in the conflict zone is underway," Lukashevich added.

The Samopomich faction in the Verkhovna Rada has decided to exit the ruling parliamentary coalition, the faction’s head Oleg Berezyuk told a press conference in Kiev on Thursday.

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The ruling coalition formed one year ago with the Pyotr Poroshenko Bloc has thus broken up losing the majority vote, Berezeyuk said. All faction members will step down from the parliament, he added noting that the decision was made after the latest developments when Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseyuk’s government survived a no-confidence vote on February 16.

The Minsk accords were 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 Pyotr Poroshenko.

The Minsk accords envisage ceasefire, weaponry withdrawal, prisoner exchange, local election in Donbass, constitutional reform in Ukraine and establishing working sub-groups on security, political, economy and humanitarian components of the Minsk accords. The Minsk Agreements name OSCE Special Monitoring Mission as the only official international representative in the region.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy Ukraine Alexander Lukashevich

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