UN Secretary General António Guterres has criticized Russia for permitting voting in occupied Ukrainian territory within the ongoing Russian presidential election.
“The secretary general condemns the efforts of the Russian Federation to hold its presidential elections in areas of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation,” his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric mentioned in New York on Friday.
“He recalls that the attempted illegal annexation of regions of Ukraine has no validity under international law.”
“The United Nations remains steadfastly committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, as per the relevant General Assembly resolutions,” the spokesman added.
Three days of voting opened in Russia on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin is operating for re-election in a vote that’s thought of a foregone conclusion.
According to Russian figures, 4.5 million individuals are referred to as to vote within the occupied elements of the Ukrainian areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson.
Voting may also happen on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Ukraine has protested towards the votes held in violation of worldwide legislation and referred to as on the world to not acknowledge the outcomes of the election.
Source: www.anews.com.tr