Ukraine signs law on special status

Moscow, Oct 17 (IANS/TASS) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law on a special status for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"Poroshenko has signed the law 'On special procedure of local self-government in separate districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions'," a statement on the presidential website posted Thursday said.

"It defines a provisional procedure of organising local self-rule and operation of local power bodies in separate districts of the two regions," it said.

"The key goal is to create conditions to normalise the situation as soon as possible, restore law and order, constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, create conditions for residents to return to forcibly left permanent residence places, restore vital activities in inhabited localities and develop the territories," it said.

The law will be enforced for three years.

The statement also says that the local polls for the two regions has been scheduled for Dec 7, 2014.

According to the UN, some 3,500 people have been killed and thousands have fled Ukraine's war-torn southeast as a result of clashes between the government troops and pro-Russian in Donetsk and Luhansk.

The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's republics (DPR and LPR) agreed on cessation of fire and exchange of prisoners during talks mediated by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Sep 5 in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

The ceasefire took effect the same day but reports said it has occasionally been violated.

Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet Friday to discuss the Ukrainian crisis on the sideline of the ongoing Asia-Europe Meeting being held in Milan.

--IANS/TASS

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