Updated 8:36 p.m. Moscow Time
DONETSK, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, dismissed on Wednesday rumors of his resignation.
"I did not ask to resign and I have no plans to do so at present," Zakharchenko said at a news conference in Donetsk.
“I am not clinging on to the leadership. If the safety of my land is at stake, it would be easier for me to say goodbye than to betray the interests of my fellow countrymen. No one will force me to order a retreat. The ceasefire agreement was signed only to let the Ukrainian side realize that the problem could not be solved by force," Zakharchenko added.
Earlier, Russian weekly magazine Expert released an interview with the DPR prime minister, in which he allegedly said that he “had just signed a letter of resignation.”
According to the press office of the DPR government, Zakharchenko gave the interview to the magazine on September 30. On October 4, Zakharchenko filed documents to the DPR central election commission to run for the head of the republic, the DPR government press service said.
