MOSCOW - Self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic leader Alexander Zakharchenko has declared the possibility of forming a single economic space of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics and nationalizing enterprises.
“In my opinion, our future relationship, a more structured one, will take shape after the New Year when the ongoing tensions – war or no war, peace or no peace – are gone. That will happen at the level of the People’s Councils of the two countries, there may be legislative acts on friendship and cooperation and, I suppose, on a single economic space,” the Donetsk news agency quoted Zakharchenko as saying.
The republics have a customs-free zone at present, Zakharchenko added.
The DPR leader emphasized his good relations with Luhansk People’s Republic leader Ihor Plotnitsky. “I have a perfect relationship with Plotnitsky, I know his very well. To be honest, his life is not easy due to a slightly different situation [in the Luhansk People’s Republic],” Zakharchenko said.
The unrecognized republic’s leader added that enterprises, which used to be owned by the government of Ukraine, “have been nationalized de facto.” Yet nationalization of private assets “should be handled with great caution and every case should be given careful consideration,” Zakharchenko underlined.
