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Yuriy Lutsenko explains “special status” of Donbas

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Yuriy Lutsenko explains “special status” of Donbas

The law gives an opportunity for both Ukraine and Russia to voluntary finance the Donbas region.

The statement was made by on September 12 by Yuriy Lutsenko, an advisor to the president of Ukraine, RBC-Ukraine reports.

“The draft law on the special status that will be introduced to the parliament next week provides for a special humanitarian status. The use of the Russian language will be guaranteed again, though it is already guaranteed by all possible and impossible documents,” he said.

“The right to elect members of city and district councils will be guaranteed as well as the special economic regime, which I would compare to a free economic zone. It means all revenues will remain in the region. Moscow and Kyiv can finance the budget of the zone. The regions should paid for everything from their own sources if they have this special status, but they own what they earn and receive as donations from Kyiv and Moscow,” Lutsenko said.

Asked whom the zones would pay taxes to, Lutsenko said: “It's an open question.”

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said today the temporary special status of local authorities in the Donbas region would not pose a threat to Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence.

“I offer constitutional changes to allow local communities to influence the situation, decide what language to use in the district, what holidays to celebrate and how to spend money from the local budget for the bigger share of funds will remain in it,” the president explained. He noted some issues would remain in the hands of central government.

Protocol on the results of consultations of the Trilateral Contact Group signed in Minsk on September 5, 2014, provides for the decentralisation of power in the Donbas region, also by adopting the law “On Temporary Status of Local Self-Government in Certain Areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions” (the law on the special status).

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