Crimean Tatars: Local Elections not Recognised by European Union
Against the backdrop of local elections in Russia-occupied Crimea, the EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations issued a statement which once more declared the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula to be illegal, furthermore asserting that anybody elected in Crimea during these latest elections will not be recognised as such by the EU.
Below is a statement published by the European External Action Services (EEAS):
Local and regional elections were held in the Russian Federation on 8 September [2019] and in the Crimean Peninsula. The European Union does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, and continues to condemn this violation of international law. Therefore, the European Union does not recognise the holding of elections in the Crimean Peninsula. Anybody elected in the Crimean Peninsula claiming to "represent" the populations of Crimea and Sevastopol will not be recognised as representatives of those territories, which are Ukrainian.
The European Union remains unwavering in its support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
Photo courtesy of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine @Flickr
