You're reading: Poroshenko says foreign troops must leave Donbas immediately, regardless of elections

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has stated that foreign troops must withdraw from Ukrainian territory immediately regardless of the upcoming local elections in the country.

“We underline that the withdrawal of foreign troops must be done now, without any reference to the elections as is clearly written in the Minsk agreements, this position is clearly confirmed by the leaders of France and Germany and the Russian party was notified about that,” Poroshenko said in an interview with Ukrainian TV channels on Oct. 5 evening.

He said that the main threat Ukraine faced before the meeting in Paris was the holding of illegal local elections on Oct. 18 and Nov. 1.

“We remember last year when the Minsk agreements were ruined by illegal elections. After the elections, thousands of people died in hostilities, civilians and military personnel. It was an extremely high price both for Ukraine and Russia. Thus, the main goal is to prevent illegal fake elections and ensure the beginning of a truce,” Poroshenko said.

During the negotiations, he said he had offered to withdraw not only heavy weapons, but also tanks, mortar launchers and artillery pieces of a caliber less than 100 mm.

Poroshenko said that Ukraine has managed to ensure that the withdrawal agreement was signed before the meeting in Paris.