KYIV. Oct 30 (Interfax) - Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the plans of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR, respectively) to hold local elections on November 2, 2014, the Ukrainian president's press office said.
"President Poroshenko and Chancellor Merkel discussed intentions to conduct pseudo-elections in the so-called DPR and LPR on November 2, since they run counter to the September 5 Minsk Protocol," said the spokesperson, referring to a telephone conversation between the two leaders.
All parties to the Minsk Protocol and the Minsk Memorandum are responsible for compliance, including Russia which has "reaffirmed its commitment to these agreements following a multilateral dialogue in Milan on October 17," the statement said.
On September 16 Verkhovna Rada passed a presidential bill introducing a special self-administration regime in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions for a three-year term and calling early local elections in these regions on December 7, 2014.
At the same time, the LPR and DPR announced their plans to hold local governorship and Supreme Council elections on November 2.
Poroshenko said these elections were jeopardizing the peace process in Donbas.
For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow will recognize the results of the DRP and LPR elections, considering these "one of the most important areas of the Minsk accords."