KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian opposition leaders Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko on Thursday backed a ban on elections until peacetime after Washington officials reportedly held talks with their teams on holding a swift vote.
Ukraine has banned elections under martial law, but Russia and United States (US) President Donald Trump’s team have argued President Volodymyr Zelensky is not a legitimate leader and called for elections.
US news outlet Politico reported Thursday that senior Trump allies had held secret discussions with Tymoshenko and senior members of Poroshenko’s party on whether the country could hold quick presidential elections.
Poroshenko, the leader of the opposition European Solidarity party and founder of Roshen confectionery maker, was elected president in 2014, losing a 2019 election to Zelensky.
In a statement Thursday, he said that his team “has always been and remains categorically against holding elections during the war”.
“We have said, and continue to say, that elections can only take place after a ceasefire and the signing of a peace agreement with security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said.
Poroshenko said his team works “publicly and transparently to maintain bipartisan support for Ukraine”.
In criticism of Zelensky’s administration, he said there has been a “lack of communication” between the Ukrainian government and the American administration, “which poses a risk to the state”.
Last month Zelensky banned Poroshenko from leaving the country and barred his access to assets amid escalating infighting.
Tymoshenko, who served two terms as prime minister of Ukraine and leads the Fatherland party, said her team “is negotiating with all our allies who are able to help ensure a just peace as soon as possible”.
“Until then, and I have said this more than once, holding any elections in Ukraine is out of the question,” she wrote.
