20 Countries Condemn Holding Sham Russian Presidential "Elections" in Occupied Ukrainian Territories
The heads of the foreign affairs committees of 20 countries issued a joint statement rejecting the legitimacy of the sham "elections" of the Russian president held in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
This was announced by the chairman of the Lithuanian parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, Žygimantas Pavilionis, on social media platform X.
The joint statement was signed by the chairmen of the committees of Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Germany, Moldova, Poland, Israel, the United States, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Romania, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The parliamentarians stressed that Russia organised sham "elections" that coincided with the 10th anniversary of the illegal annexation of Crimea, "which is a clear provocation".
"Russia intends to extend these elections to the territories it has occupied and illegally annexed in Ukraine, which looks like an attempt to legitimise its temporary occupation of Ukrainian territory," the statement said.
The committee chairs stressed that holding simulated "elections" in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia is a gross violation of international law, the principles of the UN Charter, as well as the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
"We strongly condemn Russia's imperialist actions and its ongoing aggression against Ukraine. We unequivocally reject the legitimacy of the elections held by Russia in the occupied Ukrainian territories. Such actions by Russia on the internationally recognised territory of Ukraine are absolutely illegitimate and will not be recognised by the international community," the statement reads.
The Chairmen of the Committees expressed solidarity with Ukraine and reaffirmed its full independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.
"The upcoming presidential elections in Russia will be neither free nor fair, they will be marred by a comprehensive suppression of the opposition and independent media, as well as a complete lack of legitimate alternatives, lack of international control, leading to results devoid of any semblance of democratic legitimacy," the parliamentarians said.