Russian foreign ministry says postponement of DPR/LPR elections to make parties find common grounds, draw their positions closer

MOSCOW. Oct 8 (Interfax) – Russia’s foreign ministry hopes that the move to postpone the elections in the self-proclaimed republics in Donbas will create favorable conditions for further discussions on the matter of political settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

“The crucial point was the statement of Donetsk and Luhansk on the shifting of the dates of the local elections in Donbas to sometime in February 2016,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Thursday.

“We expect that such a step will create a favorable atmosphere for the resumption of the discussions that started on the key issues of the political settlement, which will ultimately allow the parties to the conflict to find common grounds and bring their positions together so that they can reach reciprocally acceptable solutions to the existing problems,” Zakharova said.