Zelensky responds to Steinmeier plan critics, assuring no Russia capitulation
4 October 2019
The elections in occupied Donbas will occur only in
accordance with Ukrainian legislation, which would require the involvement of
Ukrainian parties and mass media, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video
statement published on Oct. 3 on the president.gov.ua website. The statement
was aimed at responding to daily protests by nationalists, as well as moutning
opposition to the Steinmeier formula raised by pro-Western intellectuals and politicians
this week. The same day for instance, the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council
issued a statement opposing the Steinmeier formula – for implementing the Minsk
Accords to resolve the warfare in Donbas – that has been adopted by the president.
“We all understand that Donbas is Ukraine, peace is
supposed to dominate there, a full ceasefire should occur, as well as the
withdrawal of foreign military formations,” Zelensky said. “We all understand
that Ukrainian border agents should be posted along our side of the
Ukrainian-Russian border, and an exchange of prisoners should occur so that all
our citizens return home. Elections should occur not under the barrels of
machine guns, but according to Ukrainian legislation with access for candidates
from Ukrainian political forces, Ukrainian mass media and international
observers, with internally displaced persons having the possibility to fulfill
their voting rights.”
The President’s Office in Ukraine is considering
several scenarios for holding elections in occupied Donbas, the pravda.com.ua
news site reported on Oct. 3, citing several anonymous sources in the office.
Early elections in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions could be held in the late
spring-early summer, in one version. Another option is organizing them as part
of local elections throughout Ukraine, which are scheduled for October 2020. A
third option is holding local elections nationally in the spring, which would
require a constitutional amendment. Office Head Andriy Bohdan is skeptical of
holding early elections, the report said.
