Poland urges the European Union to punish Russia for elections in LPR and DPR
In a statement published on the Polish Foreign Ministry’s website, Warsaw stated that Russia must be punished for conducting elections in the Donbas.
“These “elections” in the so-called DPR and LPR are part of the policy of a forced change of the status quo carried out by Russia, that is also manifested in promoting the militarization of the Crimea as well as aggressive activities in the Azov Sea,” stated the Polish Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry notes that these “elections” go against the Minsk Agreement and undermine the process of resolving the conflict in the Donbas.
Poland reminded that voting in local elections should be monitored by OSCE and should not worsen the humanitarian situation of the residents in the region.
As a result, the Foreign Ministry called on EU countries, together with partners, to strengthen sanctions against Russia and also, to prohibit those responsible for these “elections” from entering their territories and “freezing” their assets.
Earlier, the US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker said that the United States and European Union countries would never recognize the results of these “elections.” In turn, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko called on the European Union to strengthen sanctions in connection with the elections. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin stated that Ukraine has already begun work on strengthening sanctions against Russia for the “illegal elections” in the Donbas.