Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes the elections laid down in the Donbas Action Plan are necessary, while they are not an ultimate goal.
The comment came during Zelensky's working trip to Luhansk region, an UNIAN correspondent reports.
Read alsoZelensky announces video conference call of Normandy Four leaders' advisorsIn Zelensky's opinion, if the Action Plan for Donbas De-occupation is implemented step-by-step, elections can be held in Donbas as early as the next spring.
"I believe that we do need the elections, but they are still not an ultimate goal. The most important thing is the de-occupation as such, after which elections may come. If everyone wants to end the war, it will definitely end, and then there such an opportunity is out there," he stressed.
"Democratic, civilized and transparent elections" cannot be held "without a normalized security situation," the president said.
"Observers won't be coming there, there'll be no representatives of all parties and there will be no representatives of the CEC [Central Election Commission], so what kind of elections can we be talking about then," the president explained.
Ukraine's plan: Main points
Withdrawal of foreign troops, illegal armed groups, and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine in early 2021;
Cancellation by Russian authorities of a number of decisions and acts that directly meddle in the affairs of the certain areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, for example, on a simplified procedure for granting Russian citizenship to local residents;
Restoring control over the corresponding section of the Russian-Ukrainian state border with the help of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission;
A four-fold increase in the number of OSCE SMM representatives (by 1,500); and
Only if the first four conditions are met –elections in the territories that are now temporarily occupied by Russian-controlled forces shall be prepared and conducted.
Ukraine has presented its position to the OSCE and the Russian delegation.
Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov claimed Ukraine's plan on Donbas was inconsistent with the sequence of actions envisaged by Minsk agreements.
