The Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republic demand, in the framework of the Minsk negotiations, to create ‘a system of real self-government’ in Donbass. This was stated by the Acting Foreign Minister of the DPR, the representative of Donetsk in the political subgroup negotiations in Minsk, Natalia Nikonorova. 

‘One of the most important points is the coexistence with the central authorities (Kiev) on a contractual basis, that is, the authority to conclude contracts and, on this basis, the development in any direction: social, cultural, scientific, This is what we agreed on, having signed the Minsk Agreements. This is a real self-government which corresponds with the European Charter of local self-government,’ she said in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS.

In his turn, the LPR representative said that the elections in Donbass are an integral part of the settlement of the conflict. 

‘We will elect our authorities. The elections will be held by the majority system. There will be no «Svoboda» party, no «Right Sector», no Radical Party on our territory. When the whole territory of the region is covered with graves, these people will not come to us to campaign? It will not happen,’ said the representative of the LPR in the political subgroup negotiations, Rodion Miroshnik.

According to him, the Ukrainian mass media will not work in Donbass. Only residents living in the region will be able to participate in the elections, and the Central Election Commission of Ukraine will not be able to monitor the electoral process. 

‘The number of persons displaced from Donbass ranges from 200 thousand, when Ukraine talks about pension payments, to 2 million, whenKiev talks about the elections. Excuse me, but with such a manipulative system, give me a resource of 2 million votes and I will win any elections,’ noted Miroschnik.

He said that the LPR and DPR require the creation of a list of ‘restraining mechanisms for Donbass and Kiev’. 

‘It is the presence of security forces, it is the cross-border cooperation, because we want to live in peace with our brothers from the Russian Federation. It is the language issue. We do not accept the prohibition on the Russian language. And the separation of financial flows,’ listed Miroschnik.

According to: Новости Донецкой Республики