LUHANSK, October 17. /TASS/. The law signed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier this week is unacceptable for the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), the chairman of the LPR’s parliament, the People’s Council said on Friday.

“The essence of the law is that we remain part of Ukraine, and we clearly cannot accept this. People had their say during the May 11 referendum. People made their choice and the Kiev authorities should acknowledge this,” Alexei Karyakin said.

The lawmaker said a detailed study into the law shows that the republic is subordinated to the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and all the issues on the vital needs will be solved through the cabinet of ministers of Ukraine.

“So it turns out that whatever we might decide they [Kiev authorities] will strangle and chop it,” Karyakin stressed.

“I reiterate that we are a republic, with our laws, and we elect deputies under our laws. We are ready to cooperate in political and economic issues with Kiev, but on conditions of equal partnership as two sovereign states,” he said.

Special status law called bluff and PR

Deputy premier of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic says the law was designed specifically for this week's meeting in Milan.

“Kiev's step can be taken as imitating fulfilment of the Minsk deals, he added. "It is just unreal. Minsk accords are not implemented, special status seems to exist but is not granted to anyone, in fact. It is Kiev’s bluff and a PR move specially for the Milan meeting between Putin and Merkel.”

Law on special status to certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions

Ukraine’s President Poroshenko signed the law on the special status of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions on Thursday. The legislation was passed by the parliament in mid-September.

The law guarantees the right to freely use and study Russian or any other language in Ukraine. It also states that local elections are to take place on December 7 to establish new councils in districts, cities and villages.

The prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Alexander Zakharchenko said earlier on Friday the republic will hold its own elections on November 2, despite the president’s move to sign the law.

“We will not perceive this law. This does not concern us as it is signed by the president of another country. We are set to hold elections on November 2. We are determined to get independence. We believe that our territory has been illegally occupied,” Zakharchenko said.

The Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics declared themselves independent states following the May 11 referendum. On May 24, the self-proclaimed republics signed a treaty to unify under the name of Novorossiya.