MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. Representatives from Abkhazia, Venezuela, Syria, South Ossetia and other countries that advocate democracy will observe the Zaporozhye Region’s referendum on accession to Russia, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky told TASS.
On Monday, the head of the Zaporozhye Region, Yevgeny Balitsky, announced that he had signed an order to hold a referendum on joining Russia.
"I think observers will arrive from those countries that have been fighting against Nazism <…>. Countries that promote democracy and want the voice of people expressing their will to be heard will come. This is people’s will, and they do not want to live under the Nazi flag. And I don’t think these will come from South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Venezuela and Syria only, there will be a range of other countries that would be interested to see how this new action of people who choose their path further along themselves will proceed," Vodolatsky said.
The sanctions the West will impose on Russia are already past the point of no return for these countries and can no longer affect Russia, he added. The sanctions "are simply destroying Western countries" and will lead to an economic collapse and disintegration in energy, Vodolatsky warned.
The senior lawmaker said the State Duma committee had been assisting to citizens in the region and would continue to provide consulting services on holding a referendum.
Parliamentarians from 16 countries, including the EU and North America, want to attend the referendum as observers, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the region’s military-civilian administration reported in late July.