Ukraine's Opposition Leaders Reject Holding Wartime Elections

Ukrainian opposition leaders Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko have dismissed the possibility of elections in the country during Russia's full-scale invasion after media reports suggested US officials had approached them about the idea.

Poroshenko, a former president, and Tymoshenko, a former prime minister -- the country's most influential opposition figures -- said on March 6 that elections should take place only after peace has been established.

Poroshenko admitted in a written statement published on social media that his team has had contact with US "partners" but that "the essence of our conversations with representatives of the American side has always been reduced to two principles -- security first and peace through strength."

"Our team has always been and is categorically against elections during the war," he added.

Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, a former Ukrainian diplomat and close associate of Poroshenko's, told RFE/RL that the former president and his team are "important and interesting interlocutors" and that they "keep contact with many people from around the globe" despite alleged efforts he says from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to push them away from "the political landscape of Ukraine."

"Our goal is to keep Ukraine in the agenda of both parties," he said, adding that Poroshenko's team maintains contacts with both the Democratic and Republican parties in Washington.

"We do not push for early elections as our main goal is to ensure that any such elections can be free and fair and in accordance with European electoral standards."

Tymoshenko, meanwhile, said her team is "talking with all our allies who can help in securing a just peace as soon as possible," and added that "there can be no talk" about elections before peace is achieved.

The latest comments come after Politico reported that four senior members of US President Donald Trump's "entourage" met with Poroshenko and Tymoshenko for "secret discussions" about holding elections.