Donetsk Republic Leader Explains His 'Malorossiya' State Creation Initiative

The proposal to establish the state of Malorossiya in eastern Ukraine was meant to initiate a discussion, no final decisions on the subject have been made yet, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, said Wednesday.

DONETSK (Sputnik) — On June 18, the leader of east Ukraine's self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk (DPR), proposed a three-year transition period toward a new state called Malorossiya ("Little Russia") as a way to settle the conflict in the region. Noting that discussions within the DPR had "come to the conclusion that Ukraine has shown itself as a failed state," he called on the international community to support his proposal.

"We did not create a new state, we initiated a discussion and made our proposal. Within a week, we received a huge number of comments and suggestions from passionate people from all over Ukraine," Zakharchenko said, adding that many people supported the idea.

"The final decisions have not yet been made, but the discussion will continue and that's most important," the DPR leader stressed.

Russian envoy to the Contact Group on the Ukrainian settlement, Boris Gryzlov, said that the DPR leader's proclamation of a new state called Malorossiya doesn't fit in the Ukrainian reconciliation process as part of the Minsk deal, adding that it "is not a subject of realpolitik."

The Kremlin said that the proposal was Zakharchenko's "personal initiative."

Following DPR's announcement, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko vowed to restore sovereignty over Donbass.

Germany and France condemned the move with Berlin calling the proposal "absolutely unacceptable" and Paris urging Russia to condemn the DPR's decision.