Kiev insists no elections will be held during martial law, disagrees with PACE

MOSCOW. May 17 (Interfax) - There can be no elections in Ukraine, including presidential and parliamentary ones, while martial law remains in effect, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Alexei Danilov said.

The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Tiny Kox, said earlier that Ukraine should hold parliamentary and presidential elections even during martial law, and that nobody would blame the country even if everything was not perfect when the elections were held.

"I'd like to stress that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe should understand clearly: we have our own constitution and our own country's laws, and we should live based on them. And PACE would do better to deal with other issues," Danilov said during a TV marathon program on Tuesday evening.

"We will decide ourselves, in line with our laws and in line with our constitution. When martial law is imposed, there can be no elections. Period," he said.

Kox admitted in his statement on Tuesday that the Ukrainian constitution does not permit elections to be held under martial law, and Kiev should therefore think about how to address this challenge.

Kox said also that he planned to visit Kiev to discuss the matter.