Holding of elections in occupied territories in presence of occupation forces inadmissible

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said that the holding of elections in the occupied territories of Donbas in the presence of the occupation forces in the region is impossible.

"Regarding the statement of German ambassador and respective incident near the embassy, my position is as follows: holding elections in the occupied territory in the presence of occupying foreign troops is out of the question," Poroshenko said during a joint briefing with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Kyiv on Thursday, answering journalists' questions in connection with the incident at the German Embassy in Kyiv after the statements of the German ambassador about elections in Donbas.

According to Poroshenko, it is impossible to compare the situation in the east of Ukraine with the situation in East Germany [during the late 1980s], as foreign troops were present there with the consent of East German officials.

"We can draw parallels with the Russian base in Sevastopol. We have held elections many times, when Russian forces were present at the base in Sevastopol. But it is totally unacceptable when the occupation forces try to "push" holding elections at gunpoint," the president of Ukraine said.

Poroshenko also criticized Oleksiy Honcharenko, a Verkhovna Rada deputy of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction, for his behavior and insisted that this was his personal position.

"As far as I know, the faction condemned it [Honcharenko's action] as one not reflecting the political force's position," he said.

It was reported earlier that German Ambassador to Ukraine Ernst Reichel had been summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on February 7 to explain his remarks regarding the organization of elections in the Donbas territories not controlled by Kyiv.

Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko had written the word 'Nein' on the fragment of the Berlin Wall near the German Embassy in Kyiv on February 8, saying he had done that as a sign of protest against Reichel's controversial remarks regarding elections in Donbas.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko announced on Thursday that criminal proceedings had been launched into Honcharenko's escapade.