European officials have initiated a new project called 'Morel Plan', which is supposedly intended to help resolve the crisis situation in Donbass.
The project envisages elections in the territories controlled by the separatists, but they must be held in accordance with Ukrainian legislation.
The plan includes several key conditions - first and foremost, hostilities in Donbass must cease, and then the districts where elections will be held must be determined, parties must be registered, and an international group of observers for the electoral process must be invited.
Currently, the authors of the project note that a law must be adopted to provide for elections in the occupied territories.
The document suggests a compromise regarding elections in Donbass, but it has quite a few gaps compared to the Minsk agreements. In particular, the plan does not define who will be the regulator of the Central Election Commission. The separatists insist that the so-called LNR and DNR be legalized, but Ukrainian authorities are unlikely to agree to this.
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'Morel Plan', it is reported, was developed by the USA and Russia, and therefore its further fate will be decided by these two countries together with the EU.
According to experts, the plan complements the Minsk deal on one hand, while completely contradicting it on the other.
Local elections in Donbass deserve a separate discussion. Europe, according to experts, has long desired for them not to be held, as Ukraine will not recognize them anyway. However, Russia is unlikely to agree to this, so the elections will most likely take place but will not be recognized by anyone. Additionally, the militants have set their own date for the elections, which differs from the accepted one (October 25) - October 18 in the DNR and November 1 in the LNR.
On all other points, the 'Morel Plan' indeed proposes compromises. According to the document, it is suggested to legally reinforce and conduct an amnesty in Donbass and recognize the election results there. The separatists, in turn, must conduct a popular vote according to Ukrainian laws and help establish control over the Ukrainian borders.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has already reacted to the proposed plan, noting that Ukraine intends to continue moving in the direction of implementing the Minsk agreements, and the representatives of Russia agreed to discuss this plan. It is expected that the 'Morel Plan' will be the subject of the upcoming negotiations of the 'Normandy Four', scheduled for October 2.