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Ukraine rules out blanket amnesty for rebels

Xinhua, October 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin on Wednesday ruled out granting a total amnesty to all pro-independence insurgents.

While speaking in the parliament, Klimkin said individuals, who committed crimes against humanity in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, will not be protected from prosecution.

"This is not only our moral duty but also the key standards of international law -- all those who have committed crimes against humanity, would not be a subject to amnesty, we will take a different approach to them," Klimkin stressed.

In particular, he said that the amnesty will not apply to individuals involved in the crash of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014, as well as in shelling of Mariupol city and Volnovakha town in January this year.

While Kiev blames insurgents for being responsible for the three incidents, which in total killed almost 400 civilians, the rebels have denied any involvement.

Full immunity from prosecution for all participants of the conflict in eastern Ukraine was one of the major demands by insurgents to postpone their local elections in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, initially scheduled for Oct. 18 and Nov. 1.

On Tuesday, the rebels said they will delay the controversial vote until next year in a move, which was welcomed by the states of the Normandy quartet, namely Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, which are seeking ways to establish a lasting peace in Lugansk and Donetsk, the two regions in east Ukraine. Endit