Donbas elections should occur in 1H16, Steinmeier says

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told journalists at the United Nations headquarters that local elections in the war-torn Donbas region should be held in the first half of this year, reported the Ukrinform news agency. Among the issues at the next Normandy format meeting, to be held on March 3 in Paris, is a new election law for eastern Ukraine that will serve as the main condition to hold elections in the first half, he said. At the same time, Steinmeier acknowledged that the sides are “far from a political solution” and the number of victims and violations to the Minsk agreements is high.

Zenon Zawada: Steinmeier shouldn’t hold his breath. The parliamentary coalition can’t even agree on a Cabinet, let alone undertake a task as difficult as organizing local elections in Donbas, a proposal that is highly unpopular among the Ukrainian public. We see holding local elections in Donbas as highly unlikely in the current conditions, which we expect will persist.