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U.S. welcomes elections delay in eastern Ukraine

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday hailed the decision of Ukraine's independence-seeking insurgents to postpone their local elections.

"The United States welcomes the reports that Russia-backed separatists postpone another round of illegal elections in eastern Ukraine," spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at a daily news conference.

"People living in separatist-controlled areas deserve to pick their local officials in elections that meet international standards, are compliant with Ukrainian law and monitored by the OSCE (the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)," Toner said.

Earlier in the day, representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics said that they had agreed to delay the controversial local elections to next year.

Under the Minsk peace deal, local elections in the areas controlled by rebels were due to be held on Oct. 25 alongside the vote in other Ukrainian regions. However, Kiev has cancelled the elections in eastern part of the country, citing security concerns.

The militants in Donetsk and Lugansk decided to hold their own local elections Oct. 18 and Nov. 1 in a move, which Kiev described was a "threat" to a peace process in the area.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the decision on the vote postponement, saying it paved the way to hold local elections in Lugansk and Donetsk in accordance with the Ukrainian law and under international observation. Endit