The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA) believes that the most acceptable response of the Verkhovna Rada to the Russian presidential election will be a statement on its non-recognition in the territory of the occupied Crimea.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports bill [draft resolution] No. 8168, which also continues the policy of non-recognition of an attempt to annex part of Ukrainian territory and does not recognize the legitimacy of the Russian presidential election in the occupied territory, which attests that this election cannot serve as evidence or the reason for the change in the Ukrainian status of these territories. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not support bill No. 8153,” Deputy Director of the Department and Head of the Political Department of the Department for Counteracting Threats from Russia at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Marko Shevchenko said at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs on March 21.
He recalled that ahead of the Russian presidential election, the Ukrainian parliament had noted in a statement the inadmissibility of recognizing the election in the occupied Crimea.
Shevchenko noted that the draft resolution on the non-recognition of this election exclusively on the territory of Crimea “is closer” to the conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR, which do not deal with the illegitimacy of the Russian presidential election in general.
“This bureau is an institution respected in the international arena and its conclusions are the basis of all political decisions of all democratic governments in Europe and the countries of the OSCE area,” he added.
He noted that the practical consequences of recognizing the Russian presidential election as illegal would negatively influence the Foreign Ministry’s ability to protect Ukrainian citizens in Russia, in particular, those who have been illegally convicted.
As reported, two draft resolutions with an assessment of the Russian presidential election were registered in the Verkhovna Rada. Draft resolution No. 8153, filed by representatives of the People’s Front faction, proposes that this election be recognized as illegitimate in general, and the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko faction proposes not recognizing the holding of this election only on the territory of the occupied Crimea.
