If the EU wants 'political solution', it should recognize the election of "republics" - Ambassador of the Russian Fed. (RA).
The European Union should recognize the recently held elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics if it is interested in a political settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's Permanent Representative to the EU, said Monday.
"I believe that if the EU is genuinely interested in the speedy political settlement of the crisis in the east of Ukraine, it should welcome these elections," Chizhov said.
"I am not calling for automatically recognizing the self-proclaimed republics, nobody expects that from the EU. But the fact that the residents of these regions have expressed their will should be recognized based on the democratic values advocated by the EU," he added.
Chizhov stated that he is disappointed with EU foreign chief Federica Mogherini's interpretation of the elections.
"The vote, the way she sees it, was illegitimate and the EU will not recognize it. It is also claimed that the elections were held contrary to the spirit and the letter of the Minsk protocol. I am concerned with such an interpretation. And especially with an attempt to show it [the elections] as something that contradicts the Minsk agreements," he stated.
The Russian diplomat added that he hopes the European Union will not choose to increase sanctions against Russia over the Sunday elections in the self-proclaimed republics.
"The last thing we heard from EU official sources was that they are not considering extending sanctions. When there is a will one can come up with just about anything. I hope that the EU's new leadership has enough common sense [not to toughen sanctions]," he told RIA Novosti.
On Sunday, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics held elections for the heads of the local governments and representatives of the legislative bodies. Donetsk and Luhansk residents established people's republics that later declared independence following a February coup in Kiev.
Vladimir Chizhov:#EU should recognize elections in DPR & LPR if it is interested in a settlement of #Ukraine conflict http://t.co/iu5XPpAMeY
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) November 3, 2014Poland Is Preparing For A Potential Russian Invasion
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