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West’s stance on referendums changes nothing, treaties already signed — Russian ambassador

Dmitry Lyubinsky said "that the free expression of will of millions of people in the referendums was carried out in full compliance with the rules and principles of international law"

VIENNA, October 3./TASS/. The European Union and certain EU nations can say whatever they want, but it will not change anything, since the treaties on the admission of the DPR, LPR, the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions to Russia have already been signed, Russian Ambassador to Austria Dmitry Lyubinsky wrote on his Facebook page (a social media site banned in Russia since it is owned by Meta Corporation, which has been deemed extremist by Russia’s authorities) on Monday.

The diplomat confirmed that "as part of a coordinated effort within the European Union", he was invited to the Austrian Foreign Ministry earlier on Monday. In response, he said, in particular, "that the free expression of will of millions of people in the referendums was carried out in full compliance with the rules and principles of international law".

"The legal right to self-determination is enshrined in the UN Charter, the 1966 International Covenant on human rights, the 1975 Helsinki Final Act," the diplomat stressed.

"I added that the European Union and certain EU capitals can claim whatever they want to, but these statements do not and cannot change anything - the relevant treaties have been signed, four new entities of the Russian Federation are admitted to Russia," Lyubinsky pointed out. "And this is the reality that the European Union will have to live with and reckon with from now on," he summed up.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Dmitry Lyubinsky following the referendums in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions.

The Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian diplomat "to send a clear message", calling the referendums "an unacceptable breach of international law," it wrote on Twitter. The ministry said it had coordinated its moves with EU partners.

From September 23 to September 27, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) as well as the Kherson Region and the Zaporozhye Region held a referendum where the majority of voters opted to join Russia.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the DPR and the LPR, the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions signed treaties on their accession to Russia. In his speech at the signing ceremony, Putin called on Kiev to immediately cease hostilities and return to the negotiating table.

The president said that the people’s choice at the referendums on these territories was their inalienable right enshrined in the UN Charter.

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