Europe

No talks with Kiev until Kiev troops withdrawal: Donetsk

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Self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk says it does not seek to hold talks with Kiev’s interim government until the complete withdrawal of all Ukrainian forces from the region.

“As long as the territories are occupied, there will be no dialogue with Kiev,” local news agency Ostrov quoted Donetsk Republic’s Prime Minister Aleksandr Boroday as saying at a press conference on Saturday.

The remarks came as Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov changed heads of four regions in Donetsk Province.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general has declared the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics as “terrorist organizations.” In a statement, released on Saturday, the prosecutor’s office said these two regions have financiers and arms supply channels.

Meanwhile, self-defence forces in Donetsk say they have arrested nearly 100 people for provocation against the region’s self-proclaimed republic.

Additionally, the deadline for an ultimatum set by Donetsk self-defense forces, which demanded the withdrawal of the Ukrainian troops from the territory, passed on Friday.

Deputy Commander of “the People’s Militia of Donbass” Sergey Zdrilyuk threatened to use force against the Kiev military troops if the demand was not met.

On May 12, Ukraine’s two eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk declared independence following local referendums in which the regions’ residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Kiev.

The referendums echoed a March vote in Crimea that led to the reunification of the peninsula with the Russian Federation. Nearly 97 percent of participants in Crimea’s referendum voted for rejoining Russia.

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