Donbas rebels say ready to accept special status within Ukraine

The rebel authorities in Ukraine's restive Donbas area said Tuesday that they are ready to accept the special status for their region within Ukraine if Kiev implements a comprehensive constitutional reform.

Representatives of self-claimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego have proposed Kiev to adopt the amendments to the Ukrainian Constitution to effectively carry out the reform.

The constitutional amendments project, which was published on the rebel-run Lugansk news-agency, suggested that after the constitutional reform Donbas should have more economic and administrative powers, while remaining part of Ukraine along with other regions.

"The certain regions with special status or their associations would be an integral part of Ukraine," the document said.

The project suggested that following the reform, Donetsk and Lugansk regions, together known as Donbas, will have a special economic regime, a right to cooperate with foreign countries as a separate entity and will establish their own law enforcement agency that is not subordinated to Kiev.

Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, the self-styled heads of the two self-proclaimed republics, should retain their positions as the leaders of Donetsk and Lugansk, the project said.

The document also proposed Kiev to enshrine Ukraine's non- aligned status in the Constitution, prohibiting the country to join military alliances.

The special status within Ukraine was offered to the rebels by the government in Kiev in an attempt to settle the bloody 14-month- old conflict in eastern regions in which more than 6,400 people have been killed.

Earlier, the insurgents were seeking full independence from Kiev. Endite