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Interfax said.
In response, former President Poroshenko expressed his concern in Facebook post about the unexpected news of the prospect of Ukraine unilaterally lifting the trade blockade, demanding that President Zelenskiy explain the basis for “giving such directives to the Ukrainian delegation.” He pointed out that Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council imposed the blockade in March 2017 in response to the Russian-backed governments in Donetsk and Luhansk deciding to confiscate Ukrainian state and private enterprises, as well as adopting Russian tax law and the Russian currency. Before lifting the blockade, Poroshenko said a lengthy ceasefire must be achieved, as well as returning enterprises to their Ukrainian owners. “What further? Reparations from Ukraine’s budget on behalf of the aggressor? Autonomy with the right to veto sovereign decisions by the state on the EU-NATO course? We won’t allow the fulfillment of the Russian scenario on resolving the situation in Donbas!” Poroshenko wrote.
A new ceasefire agreement is being drafted and is planned to be signed on June 19, said Boris Gryzlov, Russia’s representative to the group, as reported by the BBC. As part of this new agreement, Kuchma called for new clauses, including “not to fire in response,” as well as forbidding firing at civilian targets, including schools and nurseries, Interfax-Ukraine said.
2.1 Seven parties could enter Rada
If the elections to the Verkhovna Rada were held next Sunday, the Servant of the People, Opposition Platform - For Life, European Solidarity (formerly known as the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko) and Batkivschyna would make it into parliament, followed by three more political parties that have a chance to overcome the 5% electoral threshold, according to a rolling survey conducted by the Social Monitoring Center and the Oleksandr Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute for Social Research.
According to the research data released at a press conference at the Interfax- Ukraine news agency on Monday, 43.1% of respondents among those already decided and planning to vote are ready to support the Servant of the People party, 11.7% the Opposition Platform - For Life party, 9.2% the European Solidarity party, and 9.1% the Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Association.
Taking into account the sampling error, the Holos party led by singer and musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk (4.9% of the vote), Ihor Smeshko's Power and Honor party (4.7% of the vote) and Anatoliy Hrytsenko's Civil Position party (3.6% of the vote) also have every chance of overcoming the 5% barrier.
At the same time, 2.2% of those polled would vote for Oleh Liashko's Radical Party, 1.9% for the Samopomich Association, 1.7% for Svoboda, 1.7% for the Opposition Bloc - Party of Peace and Development, 1.2% for Nadia Savchenko's Civil Platform, and 1% for the National Corps.
All other parties would get less than 1% of the vote.
9 UKRAINE Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com