MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Only Kiev, not Russia or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, can agree with the east Ukrainian self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk on holding elections through direct dialogue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.
“As [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has said numerous times, the main issue is the solution of all questions through direct dialogue between Kiev and the representatives of Donbas. It would be impossible to reach any type of agreement otherwise. The OSCE, our European colleagues, or Russia cannot reach an agreement with the representatives of Donbas for Kiev,” Peskov told journalists.
The Ukrainian government does not recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics as entities independent from Kiev, stating that it will not formally recognize local election results.
Ukraine is expected to hold local elections on October 25, while Donetsk and Luhansk plan to hold their own local elections on October 18 and November 1, respectively.
