Kiev says ready for local elections in E. Ukraine only after implementation of Minsk deal

The Ukrainian authorities are ready to hold local elections in eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions only after full implementation of the Minsk agreement, Kiev's representative in the Contact Group on Ukraine crisis Leonid Kuchma said here Friday.

"First, all points of the Minsk agreement should be implemented and only then, we could talk about the elections," Kuchma told reporters during a media briefing.

In particular, he emphasized that Kiev will not agree on elections in Donetsk and Lugansk until it gets a full access to the state border in areas controlled by independence-seeking insurgents.

Meanwhile, rebel representative in the political department of the Contact Group Natalia Nikonorova said that Kiev should also fulfill certain conditions on settling the situation in eastern Ukraine to pave the way for the elections.

"The roadmap for the implementation of a package of measures should take into account all the stages of a political settlement, including the end of the government military operation, cancellation of the economic blockade, amnesty, introduction of the law on special status and constitutional reform in Ukraine," Nikonorova said.

Holding local elections in accordance with the Ukrainian law and under international observation is viewed by many experts as a major step towards political reconciliation between Kiev and rebels, who have been engaged in a military conflict since April 2014.

The 13-point Minsk agreement, outlining the steps needed to end the conflict, was reached in February 2015 in talks involving leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.

The main provisions of the deal include a comprehensive ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons from the frontline of fighting, release of captives, amnesty to detained insurgents and restoration of the Ukrainian government control over the state border. Endit