DONETSK, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev's suggestion of holding elections in eastern Ukraine on December 7 instead of the November 2 date scheduled by independence supporters breaches the Minsk agreement, the deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said Wednesday.
"Calls from Kiev and Washington to Russia and Donbas to abide by the Minsk Agreements is blatant hypocrisy," Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Purgin told reporters.
"The suggestion of holding elections in Donbas in accordance with Ukrainian law on December 7 instead of November 2 is clearly absurd," he added.
Purgin explained that Kiev's law on the special status of its breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions does not specify the exact territories that were granted increased powers. "Besides, this has been done deliberately. The law on the special status seemingly exists. But it is not known on which territories it operates. Thus, Kiev directly breaches the Minsk protocol," he concluded.
On September 5, the Ukrainian authorities and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics signed the so-called Minsk protocol stipulating the establishment of ceasefire in Ukraine's eastern regions. In addition, Kiev agreed to adopt a law giving the Donetsk and Luhansk regions special statuses for three years and ensuring early local elections there.
The leaders of the DPR and the LPR have laid claim to the whole territory within the borders of the respective administrative entities in Ukraine and want their full independence. Both self-proclaimed republics have set elections of regional leaders and legislative bodies for November 2.
