Ukraine promises ‘special status’ for east, but no territorial concessions
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promised yesterday to propose a bill granting “special status” to rebellious regions in eastern Ukraine, in a bid to boost support for Kyiv amid a shaky cease-fire, The Christian Science Monitor reported.
But Poroshenko said that the east would remain part of Ukraine, underscoring his unwillingness to consider calls from Moscow and pro-Russian rebels for federalization. Kyiv has long argued such a move would give the eastern region near complete autonomy and propel it toward secession.
“Ukraine will not make any concessions on issues of its territorial integrity,” Poroshenko said in remarks during a nationally televised Cabinet meeting addressing the conflict that’s so far killed over 3,000, according to the Associated Press.
The president also said that 70% of Russian troops in Ukraine have left the country, something he said “strengthens our hope” for peace prospects, Reuters reports. Russia denies sending troops into Ukraine, a claim that Kyiv and its Western supporters
strongly dispute.
But Poroshenko also noted that “the cease-fire was not proving easy to maintain because ‘terrorists’ were constantly trying to provoke Kyiv’s forces.”
The Ukrainian leader’s speech comes as he faces mounting pressure in western Ukraine to prove that he did not negotiate away Ukraine’s territorial integrity during cease-fire talks last week, The Wall Street Journal reports.
It also comes as European Union officials met in Brussels yesterday to discuss a second set of sanctions against Russia that were to be announced earlier this week but were delayed to “assess the viability of a truce in Ukraine without risking further trade retaliation by Russia,” Bloomberg notes.
Poroshenko gave few details as to what “special status” in the east would entail, but said it would be largely along the lines of the 12-point plan agreed to on Friday. But rebel leaders quickly pushed back.
A senior leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said that his group was not backing down from its demand for full independence from Kyiv. The Christian Science Monitor reported from Kyiv Tuesday that the cease-fire, while officially holding for now, is not expected to last long.
Poroshenko also said yesterday that rebels have released 700 Ukrainian prisoners, a number the rebels also took issue with, The Wall Street Journal reports.