MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Union has not recognized the results of regional elections that took place in Russia's Crimea and Sevastopol, the European External Action Service said in a statement Monday.
"Regional and local elections were held in the Russian Federation on 10 September… The European Union has not recognised the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and therefore does not recognise the holding of elections in the Crimean peninsula. Anybody elected in the Crimean peninsula claiming to "represent" Crimea and Sevastopol will not be recognised as representatives of those territories, which are Ukrainian," the statement said.
The European Union also reiterated its support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014, when 97 percent of the peninsula's residents voted in favor of the move in a referendum. Despite this, the reunification was not recognized by the majority of the Western countries including the European Union which subsequently imposed the economic and political sanctions on Moscow in relation to the move. Moscow has repeatedly said that the referendum on rejoining Russia was conducted by Crimea in compliance with the international law.
