KYIV. Oct 1 (Interfax) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky clarified his opinion on the main provisions of the Steinmeier Formula about elections in certain districts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions outside Kyiv's control, the agreement on which was reached at a Trilateral Contact Group meeting in Minsk.
"What does this [Steinmeier] formula mean? It actually contains one or two proposals. The temporary law on the special local self-government procedure in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, also known as the law on Donbas special status, will take effect on a permanent basis, if local elections, which will be held in line with the Ukrainian Constitution and Ukrainian legislation, take place there [in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, ORDLO], as well as following the publication of the OSCE report that elections were conducted in line with OSCE standards and international standards of democratic elections," Zelensky said at a press briefing following the TCG meeting on Tuesday.
"This means that there will be no elections at the barrel of machineguns," he said.