President Zelensky: Local elections in Ukraine are needed in Donbass and Crimea

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Photo: TASS

"Our current wish is to hold local elections throughout Ukraine, including the Donbass and Lugansk regions in October 2020. And also the Crimean territory" - President Zelensky said.

According to President Zelensky, the election should be held after implementing security measures, including joint control in the Ukraine-Russia border area.

In this regard, the Ukrainian leader suggested that the control be carried out by representatives of Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as the Donbass authorities.

The conditions for holding the elections are compliance with Ukrainian legislation, as well as recognition of the results by both the OSCE and the entire international community.

The Ukrainian president also hopes that the plan to hold elections in October will be supported by the leaders of the "Normandy Four", namely France and Germany.

Referring to the situation in Donbass, President Zelensky expressed his belief that the military conflict in this region will be resolved before the end of his 5-year presidential term, because this is considered his "most important task".

At the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the President of Ukraine made a statement about Kiev's readiness to conduct dialogue with the people of the uncontrolled territories. At the same time, Mr. Zelensky stressed that Ukraine will not negotiate with "those who are not recognized by international law."

President Zelensky expressed his belief that the people of Donbass should participate in discussions within the framework of the "Minsk Agreement platform" to shape "the future of Donbass as part of a united Ukraine".

Preparing for the Normandy Conference

President Zelensky affirmed that Kiev has been doing and will do everything within its power to ensure that the Normandy Four conference takes place in April 2020 as planned.

"Our main task now is to ensure strict implementation of the agreements reached in Paris. Ukraine is working every day. Every day, step by step, we are moving towards peace. However, this is a two-way street, so we expect more positive steps from the parties involved," President Zelensky said.

To solve this problem, Mr. Zelensky pointed out the need to promote the exchange of detained prisoners between Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian side is negotiating to agree on the final list of exchanges, according to which about 200 Ukrainian citizens will be returned.

In addition, at the MSC, President Zelensky did not forget to mention the topic of Crimea. The Ukrainian leader stated that he was dissatisfied that the Crimea issue was not discussed at the Minsk negotiations, and suggested that the United States should participate in this topic to create a new foundation.