Donbas Elections Pointless Without Coordination With Donetsk, Luhansk

Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) leader Igor Plotnitsky said that possible elections in Donbas must be coordinated and agreed with self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

LUHANSK (Sputnik) — Elections in Donbas must be held only after they have been coordinated and agreed with the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LPR), otherwise they will be pointless, LPR leader Igor Plotnitsky said Friday.

"The key point is that everything must be coordinated with the DPR and LPR," Plotnitsky said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Plotnitsky stressed that any subsequent steps in Ukraine's reconciliation will become pointless if the process starts "on the wrong footing."

In February, Kiev authorities and Donbas representatives managed to come to a number of agreements aiming to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine's east, which were hammered out by the leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine in Minsk, Belarus.

Besides a February 15 ceasefire and heavy weaponry pullback from the line of contact, the 13-point set of measures stipulated a provision to grant the breakaway regions broader autonomy and special status.

However, according to the law signed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko Wednesday, the DPR and the LPR will be eligible for special administrative status only if local elections are held in line with Ukrainian laws and under the supervision of international observers.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the law is a gross violation of the peace agreements reached in Minsk.