Hollande: Elections In Eastern Ukraine Likely To Be Delayed
By RFE/RL
French President Francois Hollande says local elections slated to be held in rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine this month will likely be postponed until 2016 amid Kyiv’s standoff with the Russian-backed separatists.
The rebels are planning separate elections in territory under their control, which Western governments say would violate the terms of a February peace agreement that was signed in Minsk.
Hollande made the remarks in Paris on October 2 following talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"On the election issue...it will take longer. We don't want elections to get held in eastern Ukrainian territories under conditions that would not respect Minsk," Hollande said.
Hollande and Merkel said the leaders agreed that a new electoral law would be passed in Ukraine.
Hollande said that "it's therefore likely, even certain now, that -- since we need three months to organize elections -- we would go beyond the date that was set for the end of the Minsk [process], that is to say [beyond] December 31, 2015."
The Minsk deal includes a year-end deadline for Kyiv to recover full control over its border with Russia.
Merkel, who described a “positive mood” at the Paris meeting, said after the talks that Putin had “committed to working towards...establishing the conditions that would allow elections to take place according to Minsk, based on Ukrainian law, in a coordinated fashion between the separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk and the Ukrainian government."
The Paris talks were aimed at solidifying the fragile peace agreement in eastern Ukraine, where fighting between Kyiv’s forces and the separatists has nearly stopped along the front line since a renewed cease-fire was initiated on September 1.
The reduction of hostilities in a conflict that has killed more than 7,900 people and displaced hundreds of thousands during the last 17 months has raised hopes of moving beyond the cease-fire to other issues signed in the Minsk peace deal, including the upcoming elections.
Defiant Separatists
But the separatists' representatives in Donetsk and Luhansk have previously announced they would conduct elections on their own terms on October 18 and November 1, respectively, without the involvement of the Ukrainian government.
That would be at odds with the terms of the February Minsk agreement.
The regular regional elections in the rest of the country are scheduled for October 25.
Despite the optimistic remarks by Hollande and Merkel on October 2, separatists leaders in eastern Ukraine said shortly after the Paris talks ended that they would not delay their planned vote.
Poroshenko has previously said that separate elections conducted by the rebels in eastern Ukraine would be a "red line" that Kyiv could not accept.
Kyiv has called for the voting in separatist-held territory to be canceled and wants the Kremlin to exert pressure on the rebel leaders to conduct the elections under Ukrainian jurisdiction.
After the Paris talks on October 2, Poroshenko expressed “cautious optimism.”
Both Poroshenko and Hollande said a withdrawal of light weapons from the front line of the conflict in eastern Ukraine would begin on October 3.
Ukraine and the separatists earlier in the week agreed to withdraw light weapons from a buffer zone between their forces.
Ukrainian officials and mediators from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are also pushing for international observers to be granted access to rebel-controlled zones.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after the meeting that the leaders had reaffirmed their position that there is “no alternative” to the implementation of the Minsk agreement, which Kyiv and the West have repeatedly accused Moscow and the separatists of violating.
Putin said on the eve of the Paris talks that the two sides in Ukraine were "far from a resolution, but there are elements that boost our confidence that the crisis can be overcome and the most important point is that there is currently no shooting."
The European Union will evaluate progress made on the Minsk accords by the end of the year before deciding whether to extend sanctions against Russia.
With reporting by AFP, dpa, and Reuters
And here's our wrap of the Paris talks, which closes the live blog today:
French President Francois Hollande says local elections slated to be held in Ukraine this month will likely be postponed until 2016 amid Kyiv’s standoff with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The rebels are planning separate elections in territory under their control, which Western government say would violate the terms of a Ferbruary peace agreement that was signed in Minsk.
Hollande made the remarks in Paris on October 2 following talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"On the election issue ... it will take longer. We don't want elections to get held in eastern Ukrainian territories under conditions that would not respect Minsk," Hollande said.
Hollande and Merkel said the leaders agreed that a new electoral law would be passed in Ukraine.
Hollande said that "it's therefore likely, even certain now, that -- since we need three months to organise elections -- we would go beyond the date that was set for the end of Minsk [process], that is to say [beyeond] December 31, 2015."
The Minsk deal includes a year-end deadline for Kyiv to recover full control over its border with Russia.
Merkel, who described a “positive mood” at the Paris meeting, said after the talks that Putin had “committed to working towards ... establishing the conditions that would allow elections to take place according to Minsk, based on Ukrainian law, in a coordinated fashion between the separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk and the Ukrainian government."
The Paris talks were aimed at solidifying the fragile peace agreement in eastern Ukraine, where fighting between Kyiv’s forces and the separatists has nearly stopped along the front line since a renewed cease-fire was initiated on September 1.
The reduction of hostilities in a conflict that has killed more than 7,900 people and displaced hundreds of thousands during the last 17 months has raised hopes of moving beyond the cease-fire to other issues signed in the Minsk peace deal, including the upcoming elections.
But the separatists' representatives in Donetsk and Luhansk have previously announced they would conduct on elections on their own terms on October 18 and November 1, respectively, without the involvement of the Ukrainian government.
That would be at odds with the terms of the February Minsk agreement.
The regular regional elections in the rest of the country are scheduled for October 25.
Despite the optimistic remarks by Hollande and Merkel on October 2, separatists leaders in eastern Ukraine said shortly after the Paris talks ended that they would not delay their planned vote.
Poroshenko has previously said that separate elections conducted by the rebels in eastern Ukraine would be a "red line" that Kyiv cannot accept.
Kyiv has called for the voting in separatist-held territory to be canceled, and wants the Kremlin to exert pressure on the rebel leaders to conduct the elections under Ukrainian jurisdiction.
After the Paris talks on October 2, Poroshenko expressed “cautious optimism.”
Both Poroshenko and Hollande said a withdrawal of light weapons from the frontline of the conflict in eastern Ukraine would begin on October 3.
Ukraine and the separatists earlier in the week agreed to withdraw light weapons from a buffer zone between their forces.
Ukrainian officials and mediators from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are also pushing for international observers to be granted access to rebel-controlled zones.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after the meeting that the leaders had reaffirmed their position that there is “no alternative” to the implementation of the Minsk agreement, which Kyiv and the West have repeatedly accused Moscow and the separatists of violating.
Putin said on the eve of the Paris talks that the two sides in Ukraine were "far from a resolution, but there are elements that boost our confidence that the crisis can be overcome and the most important point is that there is currently no shooting."
The European Union will evaluate progress made on the Minsk accords by the end of the year before deciding whether to extend sanctions against Russia.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa
Here's Reuters wrap on the Paris talks:
Ukraine's Minsk process will run into next year - Hollande
PARIS, Oct 2 (Reuters) - It will take time to organise elections in Ukraine that respect international standards and as a result, the so-called Minsk peace process will run into next year, French President Francois Hollande said on Friday.
Violence in Ukraine's separatist eastern territories has ebbed in recent weeks to its lowest point since the ceasefire was signed in February, but Western diplomats say the 12-point Minsk peace plan is far from fully implemented.
"On the election issue ... it will take longer. We don't want elections to get held in eastern Ukrainian territories under conditions that would not respect Minsk," said Hollande, speaking after hosting talks with the Russian, Ukrainian and German leaders.
"It's therefore likely, even certain now, that -- since we need three months to organise elections -- we would go beyond the date that was set for the end of Minsk, that is to say Dec.31, 2015," he told a news conference.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the news conference: "The result (of Friday's meetings) is that the Russian president committed to working towards ... establishing the conditions that would allow elections to take place according to Minsk, based on Ukrainian law, in a coordinated fashion between the separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk and the Ukrainian government."
The Minsk accord contains a year-end deadline for Ukraine to recover full control over its border.
Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists agreed earlier this week to extend a pull-back of weapons in east Ukraine to include tanks and smaller weapons systems.
Even after the lighter weapons are withdrawn, the sides still need to end a deadlock over the ground rules for local elections.
Hollande said the ceasefire was widely respected and leaders had agreed on the implementation of steps towards peace.
"We wanted to make sure that the withdrawal of light weapons ... would start tomorrow morning at midnight," he said. "For heavy weaponry there must be a similar process, and we should be able to put seals on them."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he felt "cautious optimism" on the results of Friday's talks, Interfax Ukraine quoted him as saying. (Reporting by Michel Rose, Jean-Baptiste Vey and Noah Barkin; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Andrew Callus)
Jumped the gun on that a little. Probably a bit more caution required:
So looks like a deal on local elections:
Funny
German journalist's ire at being used as "drunk Poroshenko" source =
Berlin (dpa) - A German journalist reacted angrily Friday to news her
name was used as the source for a fake Russian media report about
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko supposedly being taken off a
flight from Kiev to Moscow because he was "absolutely drunk."
Christina Nagel, a former Moscow correspondent for Germany's public
broadcaster ARD and now working in its Berlin headquarters, told
ARD's WDR5 radio station the story was a complete fabrication.
"What is correct in this story is in principle this: I exist, Mr
Poroshenko exists, but that is really all. There was neither a call
from a trustworthy source nor any such report from us, neither from
me nor from anyone else," Nagel said.
Last week the popular Russian tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets ran a
story about Poroshenko was heading to the Russian capital for an
urgent meeting with Vladimir Putin, but his apparent "predilection"
for alcohol wrecked the chance.
The report said Poroshenko rushed to the airport in his armoured
Mercedes S-600 to catch a civilian flight, boarded the plane and
drunkenly demanded that it leave immediately, then fell asleep and
was taken off the plane by officers from Ukraine's security service.
For added believability, the report quoted Nagel as the source, based
on a call she had received from a trusted source. A Russian woman
voiced Nagel's invented comments in Russian during the report.
"Even if Mr Poroshenko spontaneously decided to fly to Moscow, why
would he use a civilian plane and not his official plane?" Nagel
asked on Friday.
"Where are the mobile phone recordings, where are the witness
reports? These are all points that speak to the fact that this story
- let's say it in plain language - is a pack of lies."