Lithuania will not recognize this week's State Duma election in Russian-annexed Crimea, the country's Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Lithuania condemns the Russian Federation's plans to hold the State
Duma elections on 18 September 2016 in the illegally annexed
Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea that was occupied at the
beginning of 2014,” the Ministry said in an online statement.
“Lithuania and its international partners will
never recognize the illegal annexation and occupation of Crimea,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Sunday's parliamentary election will be the first national vote since the Kremlin annexed Crimea in March 2014.
Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko called on the EU and other world powers last week not to
recognize Russia's upcoming parliamentary elections in the peninsula, which has been under Russian control for the past two years.
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