Russia drafts UN resolution on Ukraine

Europe, News March 20, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Moscow has circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution which calls on the Kiev government to immediately start negotiations with pro-Russia leaders in eastern Ukraine on holding local elections.

The Russian resolution, which was submitted in the Security Council on Thursday, urges Ukrainian authorities to “immediately start consultations with the representatives” and local leaders in the troubled east.

The proposed text cites a paragraph from the recent peace deal between Kiev and pro-Russia forces, which “provides for discussion and agreement on questions related to local elections in certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.”

The resolution comes days after Ukraine’s parliament ratified two bills granting autonomy to its ethnic Russian population in the eastern regions on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian legislation has drawn sharp criticism from Russian authorities, who argue that it is not in line with the peace agreement reached between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russia forces in Minsk, Belarus, on February 12 .

Senior officials in Moscow have strongly objected to Kiev’s requirement that before winning autonomy, the eastern regions must hold local elections under Ukrainian law.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Ukrainian parliament’s move “grossly violates” the peace accord, also known as Minsk II.

“Kiev is looking to replace practically all elected officials with someone else,” the top Russian diplomat said.

The mainly Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine have been hit by deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April last year to crush pro-Russia protests there.

In May 2014, the situation in the two flashpoint regions started to worsen as residents overwhelmingly voted for independence from Ukraine in referendums.

More than 6,000 people have died in the conflict, the UN says. Around 1.5 million people have also been forced from their homes over the past months of the turmoil.

JR/MKA/HMV