KIEV, September 10 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Wednesday he would submit to the parliament a bill on the special status of the eastern Ukrainian regions, designed to ensure their “peaceful return under the sovereignty of Ukraine.”
“The bill about temporary self-administration in separate districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions envisages the clear status of these regions as part of Ukraine and will be submitted to Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine next week. The future peace depends on this bill, it will ensure the peaceful return of these regions under the sovereignty of Ukraine,” he said.
Poroshenko urged Ukrainian parliamentarians to back the bill.
The president underlined that federalization of Ukraine and establishing of Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) are out of question.
“The protocol did not refer to federalization or expropriation. [The Minsk protocol] did not make provision for creation of DPR and LPR at all. It provides for special status of these regions within Ukraine,” Poroshenko said.
During the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine in Minsk on September 5, the representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) agreed to a ceasefire between the Kiev forces and independence supporters. The sides also signed a 12-point protocol that also entails adoption by Ukraine of the law on special status for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in addition to holding early elections.
