MOSCOW, October 18 (RIA Novosti) - The Ukrainian law on self-governance regulations for some parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions means de-facto recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) by Kiev, DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko stated Saturday.
"What does inventing special statuses mean? It is a recognition of the fact that Ukrainian laws do not apply here. De-facto, this is recognition of independence," Zakharchenko said.
On October 16, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a law on special status for some parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The main purpose of the law is to create conditions for a normalization of the situation in southeastern Ukraine and to restore the rule of law, and the citizens' constitutional rights and freedoms.
The Ukrainian parliament approved the law on self-administration in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on September 16. The law stipulates that local elections are to take place in the areas on December 7 and also guarantees people the right to use Russian or any other language.
Leaders of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics have stressed that they want full independence from Ukraine and have set elections of regional leaders and legislative bodies for November 2.
