Ukraine: Decentralisation is vital to 'de-Sovietise' Ukraine, says Victoria Nuland

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland praised the Ukrainian parliament's decision to approve a draft law that would give the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in the east of the country greater autonomy in Kiev, Thursday. Nuland said that the move to decentralise the country was "an important step to de-Sovietise, de-oligarchise the country, to liberate Ukraine from the structures of the past and bring it closer to Europe." Speaking at a press conference, Nuland added that decentralisation was among the most crucial constitutional reforms Kiev had to meet as part of the Minsk agreements. "The reason why we wanted to see that happen was so that there would be no excuses on the other side for renewed violence," Nuland stated. "Ukraine is doing its job. Now it's up to the other side to do its job." she concluded. Nuland's statements came hours after members of the Verkhovna Rada voted in favour of making constitutional changes to the status of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. A total of 288 out of 423 MPs voted in favour of the bill. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who submitted the bill, emphasised that the decentralisation reforms had nothing to do with federalisation, one of the key demands made by the governing bodies of the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics at the start of the conflict. Poroshenko argued that because the bill does not weaken Kiev's power in issues like defence, foreign policy, national security, rule of law or civil rights, it could not be viewed as federalisation. However critics of the bill argue that it weakens the Ukrainian government's position in keeping control of its territories. The press conference came on Nuland's last day of a tour across the Balkans and eastern Europe. During her two-day visit to Ukraine she met with the Ukrainian leadership to discuss a range of issues, including the ongoing implementation of the Minsk agreements. Previously she had visited Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia.