BRUSSELS, November 5. /TASS/. The Council of the European Union said in a statement on Wednesday that it does not recognize the recent elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics.
“The EU considers the holding of ‘presidential and parliamentary elections’ in Donetsk and Luhansk "People’s Republics" on 2 November as illegal and illegitimate and will not recognize them,” the Council’s statement said.
The Council said the only elections that could be recognized by the EU should be held “in accordance with Ukrainian law.”
“In order to find a sustainable political solution to the crisis in eastern Ukraine through dialogue, the EU urges all parties to fully implement the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum swiftly and without further delay,” it said.
The statement also called for “securing the Ukrainian-Russian border with permanent monitoring under the OSCE verification,” recalling that “a solution to the crisis can only be based on the respect of Ukraine’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The EU is particularly worried about continuing violation of the ceasefire, the resulting losses of lives and increasing numbers of internally displaced persons,” it said.
“The EU will continue to provide humanitarian assistance and calls on all parties to facilitate distribution of aid to populations in need, on the basis of non-discrimination, cooperation with established humanitarian actors and with the consent of competent national authorities,” the statement said.
According to the UN, more than 4,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled Ukraine’s southeast as a result of clashes between Ukrainian troops and local militias in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions during Kiev’s military operation, conducted since mid-April, to regain control over the breakaway territories, which call themselves the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics.
The parties to the Ukrainian conflict agreed on a ceasefire at talks mediated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on September 5 in Belarusian capital Minsk. The ceasefire took effect the same day but has reportedly occasionally been violated.
On September 19 in Minsk, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE adopted a memorandum outlining the parameters for the implementation of commitments on the ceasefire in Ukraine laid down in the Minsk Protocol of September 5.
The document contains nine points, including in particular a ban on the use of all armaments and withdrawal of weapons with the calibers of over 100 millimeters to a distance of 15 kilometers from the contact line from each side. The OSCE was tasked with controlling the implementation of memorandum provisions.