UN, EU slam planned votes in eastern Ukraine
Iran Press TV
Thu Oct 30, 2014 5:26AM GMT
The United Nations and the European Union have condemned plans by pro-Russia forces to hold elections in eastern Ukraine, saying such a measure would undermine peace efforts.
In separate statements, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the EU's foreign affairs service said on Wednesday that elections in eastern Ukraine would undermine a truce deal reached between Kiev and Moscow in Belarus last month.
Pro-Russia forces in self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk republics have scheduled their elections for November 2, with early voting on the internet already taking place.
Ban criticized the elections, saying it was "in breach of the constitution and national law." He also said that the ceasefire agreement needed "to be urgently implemented in full."
The EU criticized Moscow for announcing that it would recognize the results of the elections in eastern Ukraine.
"We deplore [Russian Foreign] Minister [Sergei] Lavrov's remarks about Russia's forthcoming recognition of the elections," said the spokesman of the European External Action Service.
The pro-Russia leaders in eastern Ukraine rejected the results of Ukrainian parliamentary elections on October 26, saying that Ukrainians in the east had not been represented in the process.
The EU also called on Moscow to ensure that Donetsk and Luhansk could vote in local polls being organized nationwide by authorities in Kiev for December 7.
The Ukrainian parliamentary elections were held amid ongoing fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia forces in the volatile east.
Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since the government in Kiev launched military operations in mid-April in a bid to crush the protests.
SZH/HJL/MHB
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