WASHINGTON—Ahead of the sham elections scheduled to be held in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic on November 11, Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) issued the following statement:
“These so-called elections do not offer a credible way forward for the people of war-torn eastern Ukraine, nor do they support the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. Instead, they seek to legitimize the current unelected leadership and parliaments of the proxy authorities in these regions and delay the return to Ukraine of control over its sovereign territory.
“The Minsk agreements call for local elections in the Donbas to be held in accordance with Ukrainian law and to be monitored by the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Elections conducted according to these standards would calm the situation in Donbas and provide a path towards peace and reconciliation. Russia must stop stoking a conflict that has already taken over 10,000 lives and displaced a million and a half more. Until the Government of Russia fully implements the Minsk agreements and ends its illegal occupation of Crimea, U.S. sanctions must remain in place.”
