Ukraine’s Parliament urges international community to recognize Russian ‘voting’ in occupied Crimea illegitimate

The resolution was supported by 306 lawmakers, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to the explanatory note, the statement calls on members of parliaments of foreign states and international parliamentary organizations to ensure non-recognition of the results of mentioned voting with regard to their holding in the temporarily occupied Crimea. It is noted that all-Russian voting on constitutional amendments aims to legalize and enshrine in the Russian constitution the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, to limit the priority of international law in the territory of the Russian Federation.

The adoption of the resolution is expected to draw the attention of the international community to the problems of human rights protection related to the temporary occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation; to continue to step up international political and economic pressure on the Russian Federation, including in the form of restrictive measures related to the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol; and to restore the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders.

As reported, the referendum on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation lasted from June 25 to July 1. The constitutional amendments, which zero out the presidential term of Vladimir Putin, were supported by 77.9% of referendum participants.

At the same time, Russia held voting on the territory of the occupied Crimea. The so-called authorities stated that the Crimean peninsula became one of the regions with the greatest support for amendments - more than 90%. The voter turnout in Russia was 67.9%, in Crimea - 81%.

The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Ukraine stated that Russia’s use of Crimea for voting on amendments to the Russian constitution was unacceptable, and the UK did not and would not recognize such voting on sovereign Ukrainian territory.

Co-Chairs of the European Parliament’s Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group David McAllister and Tomas Tobé stated that the European Parliament was not involved in observing the “constitutional referendum” in Russia and would not recognize the holding of this consultation in the annexed Crimea.

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were illegally annexed by the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014.

ol