Brussels, 04/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 2 November, new High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that the elections being held the same day in the people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine were “a new obstacle on the path towards peace in Ukraine”. “The vote is illegal and illegitimate, and the European Union will not recognise it”, she stated. Mogherini added that the elections were held contrary “to the letter and spirit of the Minsk Protocol”, and that they obstructed the efforts to find a sustainable political solution to the crisis.
“Early local elections in accordance with Ukrainian law, as foreseen in the Minsk Protocol, are the legal and legitimate means of renewing the democratic mandate of the local authorities in these parts of Ukraine”, Mogherini stated, calling on “all sides to work towards such elections”. These elections are planned for the government on 7 December 2014.
Mogherini wanted all parties to reaffirm their commitment to the Minsk Protocol, and to act “coherently in order to implement it” fully in all its parts. “The aspiration for peace can't be only a political statement. It requires political will and good faith”, she said.
Recalling that the EU is committed to supporting these efforts and will continue working towards the solution to the crisis, Mogherini called on all parties to act “in full respect of the territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence and unity” of Ukraine.
The prime minister of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk, Alexander Zakharchenko, was elected “president” with 77.51% of the votes, and in Luhansk, the former military officer, Igor Plotnitsky, who holds the Soviet past dear, obtained over 63% of the ballot. The elections were not monitored by any international organisation.
On 3 November, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko announced that Ukraine was going “to review its action plan” after the vote described as a “gross violation” of the Minsk Protocol of 5 September. The National Security and Defence Council was due to meet on Tuesday 4 November to discuss the abolition of the law on the “special status” of the separatist regions - a law approved in September, which gave them wide autonomy for three years. (CG)