International organizations do not recognize Russian elections in Crimea Thursday, September 8, 2016 1:29:00 PM

The political director of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, Oleksii Makeiev, stated that international organizations do not recognize, and will not send their observers to, State Duma elections, which Russian authorities intend to hold in the Crimea.

“No international organization will ever recognize the State Duma deputies elected in the Crimea as members of parliamentary delegations of the Russian Federation,” he said on channel 5 on Wednesday evening.

The Ukrainian diplomat added that the legitimacy of the future State Duma can be called into question because deputies who will be elected to the Legislative Assembly could be Ukrainian citizens who were “forcibly naturalized.”

Makeiev also noted that international organizations will not send their observers to the elections.

“We appealed to our partners demanding that under no circumstances should they send observers from international organizations to monitor the elections on the temporarily occupied territory. And it was done,” the diplomat informed.

He said that because a number of international organizations, such as OSCE and the Council of Europe, refused to send observers, Moscow can involve representatives from the radical parties of France and Italy as international observers. In that case, said the Ukrainian diplomat, measures will be taken by Ukrainian law enforcement.

“We have given a clear signal to these ‘political tourists’ who will help the Kremlin legalize its presence in the Crimea: be prepared for the fact that a criminal case will be opened against you,” Makeiev summarized.

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