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Poroshenko downplays Berlin deal concerns
Journal Staff Report

KIEV, Oct. 23 – President Petro Poroshenko on Sunday sought to dispel concerns of his domestic supporters about his Berlin meeting by insisting that Ukraine would not agree to local elections in pro-Russian separatist-controlled areas before fighting is stopped and Russian troops are removed from the territory.

The comments comes four days after leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia agreed in the German capital to a draft a road map to try to bring to an end the conflict in the area.

“First, we must ensure there is a ceasefire, withdrawal of troops, the OSCE is allowed access to the border and prisoners of war are released,” Poroshenko said in an interview with main television channels. “Only after that we can raise an issue of approving legislation for the elections.”

Russia, which is backing the separatists by supplying weapons and fighters, has been insisting Ukraine to accept the elections in Donetsk and Luhansk, and to incorporate the territories with much greater powers into the mainland.

Many political figures in Ukraine believe that Moscow’s plan of anchoring two pro-Russian enclaves, flooded with weapons and Russian volunteers, would effectively make much more difficult Ukraine’s integration with the European Union.

Poroshenko shared the same concerns.

“Ukraine is not afraid of free and democratic elections in the Donbas,” Poroshenko said. “But first conditions should be created,” including withdrawal of Russian troops and sealing porous borders between Donbas and Russia, perhaps with the help from the OSCE.

"When there will be an election date? First, after security conditions are met,” Poroshenko said. “And second - when Parliament will vote for it.”

Foreign ministers of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine are supposed to draft the road map that should address these concerns, Poroshenko said, adding that if Russia refuses to cooperate with the road map by end November, the West must escalate economic sanctions on Moscow in December.

"Ukraine has clearly proved that it implements all its commitments, and Russia – has not,” Poroshenko said. “As a result, if there is no progress by November, sanctions will continue," Poroshenko said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande met for more than four hours with Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Berlin on October 19.

The road map is supposed to be based on the Minsk peace agreement of February 2015 as Russia and Ukraine continue to argue on which steps of the agreement must be implemented first.

Separatist violence erupted in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and has killed 9,600 people so far. Both Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of perpetuating the violence and violating the 2015 Minsk peace agreement.

At Thursday's EU dinner, eastern and Baltic countries are also set to call for stronger EU defenses against what they say is Russian disinformation campaigns to destabilize their governments or a possible cyber attack. (nr/ez)




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