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White House condemns elections in Donetsk, Luhansk

04 November 2014 03:24 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The United States has condemned Russia's decision to recognize elections held in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as a violation of the September 5 Minsk protocol, APA reports quoting ITAR-TASS.

“We are concerned by a Russian Foreign Ministry statement today that seeks to legitimize these sham ‘elections’,” Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement, noting that the U.S. considered the elections held on Sunday in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions illegitimate. She said the elections violated the terms of the Minsk peace agreement, reached in September.

“We also continue to be concerned by reports that Russia is once more moving its troops and military equipment to portions of the international border,” Meehan said. “The Russia-Ukraine border remains unmonitored and outside of Ukrainian government control despite Russia’s commitment to facilitate the establishment of an effective international monitoring mission,” she said, expressing concerns over OSCE reports “that OSCE Special Monitoring Mission UAVs operating east of the control line have come under attack in recent days”.

“Moscow’s continued failure to fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreements calls into question its commitment to supporting a peaceful resolution to the conflict in parts of eastern Ukraine,” Meehan said, warning that economic penalties on Russia “will rise” if Moscow continues to ignore its obligations under the Minsk ceasefire.