(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) KIEV Rabi'II 14 1437 January 24 2016 SPA -- Ukraine will not give its eastern regions greater autonomy until a lasting ceasefire with pro-Russian separatist rebels is in place President Petro Poroshenko said on Sunday in comments that could antagonise the rebels and the Kremlin according to Reuters.
Ukraine's parliament had been due to vote this week on legislation to devolve more power to its regions including the disputed Luhansk and Donetsk areas as part of a ceasefire agreed between Moscow and Kiev last year.
Any attempt to delay the reform threatens to derail the peace process which was already under strain. Both Ukrainian troops and the pro-Russian rebels have complained of rising ceasefire violations since the tail end of 2015.
Poroshenko said he would not allow lawmakers to cancel the vote for the decentralisation reform. But in the same breath he threw his support behind those parliamentarians who wanted a series of conditions to be met before voting could take place.
These include a "ceasefire and a long period of a full silence. This is what Russia has to ensure and the world needs to see that it happens" he told reporters.
Another condition is giving international monitors unfettered access to the border between Ukraine and Russia to monitor the flow of troops and arms into eastern Ukraine.
--SPA
23:04 LOCAL TIME 20:04 GMT
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