A separatist leader in Ukraine has called the country a failed state and proposed starting a new one. On July 18 the head of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, called for the creation of Malorossiya (Little Russia) as a way to settle the long-running conflict in eastern Ukraine. Zakharchenko proposed a three-year transition to Malorossiya, whose capital would be Donetsk. The new state would incorporate other parts of Ukraine, including Luhansk and some areas not currently under the control of the pro-Russian separatists. The plan met with immediate criticism from Germany and France for undermining talks to resolve the Ukrainian conflict. Other rebel elements in the Donbas were not much more enthusiastic. The leadership of the Luhansk People's Republic stated that it had not taken part in creating the proposal, and one representative expressed "great doubts" about the expediency of such a solution.