The only way to settle the situation in Donbas politically is to hold fair and transparent elections under the monitoring of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.
“Only by holding free elections can we get lawful representatives of Donbas, with whom we will resolve all issues with Russian arms and Russian influence within a week,” Poroshenko said at a joint news conference with Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev in Kyiv on July 7.
It is important to hold such elections “in accordance with standards and under OSCE and ODIHR monitoring,” Poroshenko said.
The section of the Minsk agreements concerning release of all hostages is to be complied with, the Ukrainian president said. “Russia should show readiness to fulfill completely the Minsk agreements,” he said.
