You're reading: Poroshenko plans to reverse law on special status of Donbas in retaliation for unrecognized ‘election’

DONETSK, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko says he's prepared to ditch the law that grants special status to the eastern regions of Ukraine after the secessionist leaders held an election there on Nov. 2.  

He said he would propose to discuss abolition of the law at the meeting of National Security and Defense Council scheduled in Nov. 4.

“We are ready to give the wide authorities assumed by law only to legitimate local authorities but not to the criminals that crowned themselves,” Porohsenko said in his address to the nation on Nov. 3.

Some parts of Donetsk and Luhansk held what they called “local elections” on Nov. 2 to elect leaders and parliaments for the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. They have not been recognized by any country in the world but Russia, which instigated the military conflict and has provided weapons and soldiers for the separatist forces in Ukraine’s east.

Ukraine and its western allies claimed these elections would undermine the agreement on fragile truce that was reached in Minsk on Sept. 5 after months of hostilities.

At the same time, Poroshenko said that decentralization still remains on the agenda and he was ready to propose another law on special status of the Donbas region.

“We will be ready to pass the new law if all the sides go back to the Minsk protocol,” Poroshenko said in a statement, referring to the detailed agreement on cease-fire and self-governance of the region signed on Sept. 19.

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But he added that this would be possible in case of “ceasefire, creation of a buffer zone, creation of control over the border and clear steps that would mean a reverse of … the so-called elections on Nov. 2.”

Poroshenko said the new law would preview borders of regions with special status, as per the Misk agreements, and also budget decentralization.

“Later I will propose to the parliament to adopt a law for creation of a free economic zone with a special regime of trade relations with European Union and Russia,” Poroshenko said.

Political analyst Timothy Ash said by this move Ukraine’s government tries to avoid a scenario where the breakaway areas “end up being de facto sliced and diced off by Moscow.”

Kyiv Post staff writer can be reached at [email protected]