DONETSK, November 4 (RIA Novosti) —The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) welcomes the plans of Ukraine's authorities to abolish the law on the special status of Donbas, as this law was nothing more than a cover for Kiev's aggressive plans, Donetsk Deputy Prime Minister said Tuesday.
"Donetsk People's Republic welcomes Ukraine's decision to abolish the law on special status of the certain regions. Because this is the first time than Kiev's authorities are acting honestly regarding Donbas. This law contained nothing specific and deliberately never came in power," Andrei Purgin told journalists. He added that the law "served as a facade covering the aggressive plans of Kiev, including the continuation of shelling of peaceful cities and economic blocade of Donbas."
Earlier on Tuesday a draft law proposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and aimed at abolishing the Donbas Special Status has been submitted to the Ukrainian parliament.
The law on self-administration in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, also known as the Donbas, was passed by the Ukrainian parliament on September 16, following the September 5 ceasefire agreement between Kiev and independence supporters of eastern Ukraine. According to the deal, Kiev was obliged to ensure early local elections in the two breakaway regions.
On Sunday, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics held elections for the heads of local governments and representatives of legislative bodies.
Following the vote, President Poroshenko said that Ukraine will never recognize the elections' results and announced his plans to submit the abolition of the law granting special status to the Donbas Region to Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
DPR Rejects Special Economic Zone Proposed by Kiev
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic rejects Kiev's proposal to establish a special economic zone in the region and will only cooperate with Ukraine's central authorities on equal terms, DPR's Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Purgin said Tuesday.
"Poroshenko and his entourage are all billionaires, wealthy from robbing people. And they continue to rob us by not paying pensions to pensioners in Donbas. These people have worked for Ukraine their whole lives. And now [Kiev] wants to offer us a special economic zone. The punishers who destroyed Donbas are hypocritically offering us handouts in the form of benefits and empty promises," Purgin told the reporters.
"The Kiev regime has brazenly taken our people's money, it shamelessly avoids paying pensions and child benefits. And now the hucksters ruling in Kiev are offering us to haggle with them, to ask them for something that is rightfully ours," he stated. "We have paid for our rights with blood. Donbas is not for sale," he added.
The deputy prime minister stressed that "no act of Ukraine adopted without the consent of the People's Republic will be valid on our territory".
"We are standing for economic cooperation, but it can only be equitable. And we do not need handouts. Ukraine has always lived at the expense of Donbas. This will no longer be the case. Donbas will make the decisions," he stated.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated that he would submit a bill to the parliament on the creation of a free economic zone in the country's South-East, with special trade regulations regarding Russia and the European Union.
