By Agnes Szucs
BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Union does not recognize election results in annexed territory of Crimea, the bloc's external affairs spokesperson said on Monday.
Regional and local elections were held in Russia, and the Crimea Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, from Sept. 9-11.
“The EU does not recognize the holding of these elections and their result in the Crimean Peninsula,” Peter Stano said in a statement.
He reiterated that the bloc considers Crimea’s annexation by Russia a violation of international law.
“Therefore, no one ‘elected’ in the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula during these elections, claiming to ‘represent’ the populations of Crimea and Sevastopol has any legitimacy and will be recognized as representatives of those territories,” he explained.
Since 2014, EU leaders have repeatedly ruled out to approve the annexation of Crimea, and pledged support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Besides sanctions on Moscow for its war on Ukraine in February, the EU has applied a different sanctions regimes in response to the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol.