Pro-Russian separatists have voted in controversial elections

Pro-Russian separatists have voted in controversial elections
Pro-Russian separatists have voted in controversial elections
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have voted in controversial elections that Kyiv and the West say they will not recognize.
The separatists who control parts of eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions held elections Sunday for leadership and legislative bodies in the areas they control.
Quoting election officials of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, or DNR, Russian news agencies reported that with more than 50 percent of the ballots cast counted, Alexander Zakharchenko, the acting DNR prime minister, was in the lead in the contest to become DNR leader, with more than 70 percent of the vote.
The United Nations, the European Union and the United States have called the rebel vote illegal, saying it violates Ukraine’s constitution and the cease-fire agreement reached September 5 between separatists and Ukraine’s government.
The EU’s new foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said Sunday that the bloc would not recognize the vote, which she called «a new obstacle on the path towards peace in Ukraine.»
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the election in the separatist regions «a farce that is being conducted under the threat of tanks and guns.»
Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement late Sunday saying it respected the separatist vote as an expression of the will of the inhabitants of southeastern Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported.
The ministry also said that in light of the election, «it is extremely important to take active steps to establish a sustainable dialogue» between Ukraine’s central government and the separatists in line with cease-fire agreement signed between the two sides on September 5.
Western officials say the vote could further complicate efforts to end the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow rebels want to join Russia.  Even with the two-month-old cease-fire, there have been daily outbreaks of fighting in some parts of eastern Ukraine.
Earlier Sunday, the Ukrainian military said there was «intensive» movement of troops and weapons from Russia into separatist-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine where the voting was taking place.
News agencies reported seeing columns of unmarked military trucks, some with anti-aircraft guns, heading toward the government-held airport in rebel-held Donetsk, but it was unclear whether they were new or existing forces in the rebel-held region.
The election in eastern Ukraine comes a week after parliamentary elections were held throughout the remainder of Ukraine, with candidates favoring closer ties with other European countries winning a significant plurality of the seats. People living in the east did not vote in the October 26 balloting.
After casting his vote Sunday, the DNR’s acting prime minister, Alexander Zakharchenko, said if Kyiv would recognize the pro-Russian separatist region, an economic relationship could be normalized.
«If they recognize Donetsk People’s Republic and return our lost land without a fight, then we will restore normal economic ties with Ukraine and will live like equal economic partners,» he said.

Теги: POLITICS
Pro-Russian rebels vote to set up a separatist leadership in eastern Ukraine 02.11.2014
Pro-Russian rebels vote to set up a separatist
Pro-Russian rebels voted to set up a separatist leadership in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, aiming to take the war-torn
Zakharchenko has easily won rebel vote in eastern Ukraine 03.11.2014
Zakharchenko has easily won rebel vote in eastern
As said vote’s organisers, Alexander Zakharchenko has easily won an election for leadership of a breakaway republic in
EU and U.N. condemn Ukraine rebels’ election plans 30.10.2014
EU and U.N. condemn Ukraine rebels’ election plans
(Reuters) — The European Union and United Nations condemned plans to hold elections in rebel-held areas of eastern
Ukraine denounces Russian stance on rebel elections of Nov. 2 29.10.2014
Ukraine denounces Russian stance on rebel elections of
Ukraine condemned as «destructive and provocative» Russia’s stance towards elections organized by pro-Russian

Нет комментариев.