BRUSSELS, November 3 (RIA Novosti) — The European Union should recognize the recently held elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics if it is interested in a political settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's Permanent Representative to the EU, said Monday.
"I believe that if the EU is genuinely interested in the speedy political settlement of the crisis in the east of Ukraine, it should welcome these elections," Chizhov said.
"I am not calling for automatically recognizing the self-proclaimed republics, nobody expects that from the EU. But the fact that the residents of these regions have expressed their will should be recognized based on the democratic values advocated by the EU," he added.
Chizhov stated that he is disappointed with EU foreign chief Federica Mogherini's interpretation of the elections.
"The vote, the way she sees it, was illegitimate and the EU will not recognize it. It is also claimed that the elections were held contrary to the spirit and the letter of the Minsk protocol. I am concerned with such an interpretation. And especially with an attempt to show it [the elections] as something that contradicts the Minsk agreements," he stated.
The Russian diplomat added that he hopes the European Union will not choose to increase sanctions against Russia over the Sunday elections in the self-proclaimed republics.
"The last thing we heard from EU official sources was that they are not considering extending sanctions. When there is a will one can come up with just about anything. I hope that the EU's new leadership has enough common sense [not to toughen sanctions]," he told RIA Novosti.
On Sunday, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics held elections for the heads of the local governments and representatives of the legislative bodies.
Donetsk and Luhansk residents established people's republics that later declared independence following a February coup in Kiev.
The European Union, the United States and the United Nations have spoken out against the Sunday elections, claiming that they undermine the agreements reached in Minsk. Meanwhile, Russia has expressed its intention to recognize the elections and has emphasized that not recognizing them will run counter to the Minsk agreements and undermine efforts to rebuild peace in the regions.
The crisis in Ukraine's eastern regions escalated when Kiev authorities launched a military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine in mid-April. The conflicting sides reached a ceasefire agreement at a September 5 meeting of the trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine in Minsk. A memorandum specifying the implementation of the ceasefire was adopted at another Contact Group meeting on September 19.
