The European Union has not recognized the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and does not recognize elections on the Crimean peninsula, the spokesperson of the European External Action Service said regarding elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
“Elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation were held on September 18. According to the preliminary findings of the Election Observation Mission of the OSCE and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the elections by the Central Election Commission were transparent, but the issues regarding the democratic Russia’s obligations remain unresolved,” says the statement released by the EU representative to Ukraine on Tuesday.
The OSCE/ODIHR said the election environment was negatively affected by restrictions of fundamental freedoms and political rights, strict control over the media, harsh attacks on civil society, as well as drawbacks associated with the registration of candidates and the legal framework of the electoral process.
“The EU has not recognized the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation. Therefore, it does not recognize the elections on the Crimean peninsula. The observation mission of the OSCE/ODIHR did not carry out any activities on illegally annexed territories of Crimea and Sevastopol,” the statement says.
