UKRAINE-CRISIS/POROSHENKO-HAHN EU's Hahn says local election in Ukraine's east must comply with legislation

Record ID: 139967

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/POROSHENKO-HAHN EU's Hahn says local election in Ukraine's east must comply with legislation
  • Date: 11th September 2015
  • Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (SEPTEMBER 11, 2015) (REUTERS) UKRAINE PRESIDENT PETRO POROSHENKO AND EU COMMISSIONER FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY JOHANNES HAHN APPROACHING PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINE PRESIDENT, PETRO POROSHENKO, SAYING: "A main threat to the Minsk peace process we have determined is the attempt to conduct fake, illegitimate elections in Donbass on October 18 and November 01." TRANSLATORS AT NEWS CONFERENCE HAHN AND POROSHENKO AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) EU COMMISSIONER FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY, JOHANNES HAHN, SAYING: "The agreement on the ceasefire as of 1st September, is an example of tangible impact of the Minsk peace process on the ground, but may I also emphasise what the president has said: we rely that there are free, open, transparent elections also in east Ukraine, based on Ukrainian law." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) EU COMMISSIONER FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY, JOHANNES HAHN, SAYING: "Another important element for improving the business climate and having more people-to-people contact is of course a visa-free regime." TRANSLATOR AND CAMERA OPERATOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) EU COMMISSIONER FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY, JOHANNES HAHN, SAYING: "I can't and will not predict the final outcome but may I say, I was never so optimistic that we can come forward with a positive report as soon as possible." HAHN AND POROSHENKO SHAKING HANDS, WALKING AWAY
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAB1MM1883MPNSCK7899WSWYIN9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The EU expects free and transparent local elections in eastern Ukrainian regions that are controlled by separatists, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn said on Friday (September 11).
    Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko warned of the danger of irregularities in the local elections, which are being held on October 18, as a requirement of a peace agreement brokered in Minsk, Belarus.
    "A main threat to the Minsk peace process we have determined is the attempt to conduct fake, illegitimate elections in Donbass on October 18 and November 01," said Poroshenko.
    Hahn said he hoped any election process in the region would comply with Ukrainian legislation.
    "The agreement on the ceasefire as of 1st September, is an example of tangible impact of the Minsk peace process on the ground, but may I also emphasise what the president has said: we rely that there are free, open, transparent elections also in east Ukraine, based on Ukrainian law," he said.
    Violence in eastern Ukraine, where government forces and separatists confront each other, has mostly subsided since September 1 under a ceasefire agreed in Minsk.
    But Poroshenko has come under fire at home for appearing to concede too much to pro-Russian separatists under the peace agreement.
    A Kiev military spokesman said on Thursday (September 10) that an estimated 30,000 Russian troops and 10,000 separatist fighters remained in the eastern Donbass region.
    Moscow denies that its troops are engaged there.
    The EU's Hahn also said the prospect of a visa-free arrangement between Ukraine and the European Union was closer than ever before.
    "Another important element for improving the business climate and having more people-to-people contact is of course a visa-free regime," said Hahn. "I can't and will not predict the final outcome but may I say, I was never so optimistic that we can come forward with a positive report as soon as possible."
    The move is an important step for Ukraine, which saw the ouster of president Viktor Yanukovich after his rejection of ties with the EU in favour of cash from Moscow.
    The separatist rebellion erupted in April 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea in response to the toppling of pro-Moscow Yanukovich by street protests, and the succession of a Western-oriented leadership under Poroshenko.
    About 8,000 people are estimated to have been killed and several thousands wounded in the conflict, according to U.N. Human Rights Office figures.
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