MOSCOW, May 21. /ITAR-TASS/. A Ukrainian lawmaker on Wednesday said the legitimacy of the Ukrainian parliament can be doubted in the light of the latest events and the parliament's decisions.

"The Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) is the only legitimate body which lately has put its legitimacy in very big doubt," Ukrainian deputy Sergei Gorokhov said at a "round table" discussion at the State Duma lower house of Russia's parliament. Gorokhov represents Luhansk in the Ukrainian parliament.

"Deputies cannot vote as they see fit because of armed people near the parliament building. They cannot enter or exit through doors; many use underground passes to get into the session hall," Gorokhov said. "Expelling the whole faction (of Communists) from the session hall was the tipping point — such things had never ever happened before."

The parliamentarian drew attention to the referenda in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, noting that "turnout was high as never before".

People turned up for voting, and Kiev cannot ignore the opinion of Luhansk and Donetsk. "Sooner or later, Kiev will have to negotiate," he underlined.