President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy notes that local elections in Donbas are possible, but this should be preceded by the liberation of the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the creation of security conditions.
"I think the elections are necessary, but they are not an end in themselves. The most important thing is the de-occupation of Donbas, after which there may be elections. If everyone wants to end the war, it will end for sure, and then there is such an opportunity," the President said during a conversation with the media within a working trip to Donbas.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that elections cannot be democratic, civilized, transparent if there are no security conditions.
"Observers will not go there without a normal security situation, all parties will not be represented… So what kind of elections should we talk about then?" he remarked.
According to the President, the step-by-step peace plan that Ukraine has proposed for consideration at the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group provides an opportunity to "do all this to hold elections there in the spring".
"But this is not the most important issue," Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.
