Elections in self-proclaimed Donbas republics may thwart Minsk process – Ukrainian presidential official

If elections are held in Donbas, they will not be recognized and will jeopardize the entire Minsk process, says Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Kostiantyn Yeliseyev, a Ukrainian deputy presidential chief of staff.

"The Ukrainian side said at a meeting with German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande that Russia should press on its adherents so that they annul the organization of those elections," Yeliseyev said. "If they are held, they won't be recognized, and this will be a serious danger to the Minsk process," Yeliseyev said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

"In addition, we informed our German and French partners in the German and French languages of concrete facts, photos, and maps that prove the presence of Russian armed forces in Donbas territory," Yeliseyev said.

The EU might extend personal sanctions against certain Russian individuals in the fall if the situation in Donbas does not improve, he said.

"We agreed that, if the situation remains the way it is today, the EU will make a decision as early as in September on extending the so-called personal sanctions with regard to certain Russian representatives responsible for the destabilization of the situation in Donbas," Yeliseyev said.

European leaders have an understanding of certain red lines, the violation of which by Russia would prompt the EU and other Western countries to give a tough response, he said.

"One of these lines is the organization of fake elections in the territory of the so-called DPR/LPR on October 18 and November 1," he said.