Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine agreed on Tuesday to postpone unofficial elections planned for October 18 and November 1 until February 2016, backing off a move that could have derailed a shaky peace deal.
The self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) had planned to hold elections separate from Ukraine’s regional elections, which are set for October 25.
Separate elections would have been a violation of a February agreement reached in Minsk, Belarus, that specifies elections should be held under Ukrainian law.
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko had said elections in rebel-controlled areas would cross a line and signal the end …read more
Source: Voice of America
