Rebel leader sets deadline for Kiev to decide on E. Ukraine elections

The leader of independence-seeking insurgents in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday set July 14 as the deadline for Kiev to adopt a law on local elections in Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

"Before July 14, Ukraine has to adopt the law on local elections that would be accepted by us or not. If it fails to do it, we will decide on holding the elections on our own," Alexander Zakharchenko was quoted as saying by the insurgent-run DAN news agency.

He said that the insurgents stand ready to hold the vote in the areas under their control by the end of this year.

Holding local elections in accordance with Ukrainian law and under international observation is one of the key points of the Minsk agreement designed to put an end to the conflict.

The polls were planned to be held last October alongside the vote in other Ukrainian regions. However, Kiev has canceled the elections in the eastern part of the country citing security concerns.

Since then, the elections have been delayed because of differing opinions of the conflicting sides on the format of the vote and prerequisites for holding it.

To call the elections, the Ukrainian authorities demanded full access to the state border and allow deployment of an international police mission, which will ensure the security of people during the voting process.

For their part, insurgents demanded Kiev provide a special status to the areas under their control and grant blanket amnesty to detained rebels. Endi