MOSCOW, May 8 (RIA Novosti) – The Odessa tragedy has shown that Ukraine must hold a presidential election to form a legitimate government, France’s ambassador to Russia Jean-Maurice Ripert told RIA Novosti.
“France has extended its sympathy [to Ukraine] over the Odessa events. What happened there is truly horrific, there can be no denying that,” the ambassador said, adding France hoped there would be an investigation into the deadly fire that could be entrusted to international organizations.
“But these happenings are another sign that the presidential election is needed in order for the country to have a lawful authority. There’s no other legitimate way of creating a government other than elections,” Ripert emphasized.
He maintained that “if we can have a vote in Syria, we can have one in Ukraine too.” This comes as war-torn Syria is bracing for a controversial presidential election on June 3 that has been lambasted by the US and its allies as untimely.
“There must be a government in place that will be voted in by all Ukrainians and that will set preconditions for a nationwide dialog between all regions and opinion [groups] in the country. This will help the work on a new constitution. That’s one of the ideas debated in the OSCE, Council of Europe, and the UN,” Ripert stressed.
An early presidential election was scheduled in Ukraine on May 25 after President Victor Yanukovych was ousted late February following the so-called Euromaidan mass rallies.
Following the outbreak of violence in Ukraine’s south and east, the self-styled interim government said it saw no reason to postpone the vote despite the ongoing “anti-terrorist” operation in a number of regions.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the presidential election “a move in the right direction,” but added the vote alone was not enough to solve the Ukrainian political crisis. He said all citizens need to know in advance what reform to the country’s constitution will look like.
