Russia to recognize rebel Ukraine vote
Russia will recognize Ukraines parliamentary election results if the OSCE does, Russias foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
However, he also said that Moscow was ready to recognize rebel elections planned for Nov. 2 in the pro-Russian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
In remarks to the media in Russia, Lavrov said that although the elections were not held throughout Ukraine, Russia would recognize Sundays results if OSCE observers did so.
Crimea and most parts of the eastern region of Donbas, which are still not under the full control of the Ukrainian authorities, did not participate in the elections.
Lavrov was speaking as first results suggested that pro-E.U. parties were heading for victory.
According to initial reports, pro-government parties have received more than 50 percent of the Ukrainian vote. President Petro Poroshenko’s party, Bloc Petro Poroshenko, is seen as the favorite in the elections. He is expected to form a coalition with Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenuks Peoples Front party.
Final results are expected to be declared on Oct. 30.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March following the removal of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych a month earlier.
Following months of fighting, a cease-fire agreement between Kyiv and eastern pro-Russian separatists was signed on Sept. 5 in Minsk.