2016 must become a year of Ukraine's return to Donbas and constitutional approval of decentralization

President Petro Poroshenko believes his task for 2016 is to return Ukrainian sovereignty to Donbas.

In the course of his speech at the meeting of the General Assembly of representatives of local authorities - members of the Association of Cities of Ukraine, the Head of State emphasized: "My task is to return Ukrainian sovereignty to Donbas in 2016. Yesterday in Davos, the speakers confirmed this position - in 2016 Russia must fulfill all items of the Minsk agreements. It is the only reason for a partial easing of sanctions".

The President emphasized that we cannot allow freezing of the conflict. "We do not have any examples of return of "frozen" territories. Didn't we learn someting from the experience of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria? Each year of frozen conflict distances us from the return of sovereignty," the Head of State said.

The President warned against games with fire of territorial integrity. "The logic of the Minsk process ensures the restoration of sovereignty of the Ukrainian Donbas," he said.

The President said that it was necessary to correspond progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements with the approval of constitutional changes on decentralization by the Parliament.

The President once again expressed confidence that the MPs would approve constitutional amendments in the second reading.

The Head of State emphasized that decentralization was supported by the Ukrainian nation. "We will not let anyone ignore our opinion. We will not let anyone destabilize the society," he said.

"Political forces willing to block the peace process, should understand the aftermath of their actions. They will lead to the restoration of hot phase of conflict with Russia. If we do not coordinate actions with international partners, we will remain alone without political and military support and without sanctions," the President noted.

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