WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama on Oct. 27 called parliamentary elections in Ukraine a milestone in the democratic development of the country.
“On behalf of the American people, I congratulate the people of Ukraine on holding successful parliamentary elections on Oct. 26… Yesterday’s parliamentary vote represents another important milestone in Ukraine’s democratic development,” Obama said in a statement published on the White House Web site.
“I commend the Government of Ukraine for the conduct of the campaign and election day vote, which international monitoring organizations assess to have been largely in line with international standards,” reads the document.
Obama said that the United States was ready to support the choices of the Ukrainian people and Ukraine’s new government “as it enacts and implements the reforms necessary to promote further democratic development, strengthen the rule of law, and foster economic stability and growth in Ukraine.”
He said that Washington would continue to support “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as it works toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the east and a return of Crimea, and will stand with its people as they seek to build a more secure, prosperous, and democratic future.”
At the same time, Obama said it was clear that “Russian authorities occupying Crimea and Russian-backed separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine prevented many Ukrainian citizens from exercising their democratic rights to participate in national elections and cast their votes.”
He also said that the United States would not recognize “any election held in separatist-held areas that does not comport with Ukrainian law and is not held with the express consent and under the authority of the Ukrainian government.”
