MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti), Daria Chernyshova — The European Union should not impose new sanctions against Russia if Moscow recognizes the elections in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, a founding member and leader of the Indipendenza Veneta movement in Italy Alessio Morosin told RIA Novosti.
"The EU would be foolish to impose new sanctions against Russia for the only reason that it officially recognizes the November 2 elections," Morosin said, commenting on the possibility of new sanctions against Russia.
The European Union and the United States say that they will not acknowledge the elections scheduled to be held in Donetsk and Luhansk this Sunday. Moreover, the European Union will impose further sanctions on Russia if Russia recognizes the legitimacy of the November 2 elections.
"There are no precedents in international practice. The threat of using sanctions against a state to change its political course, foreign and domestic policy is unacceptable," Morosin said, explaining that sanctions are acceptable only in the case of human rights violations, which is not the case here. "The European Union, on the contrary, could send observers there."
On Wednesday, The European Union strongly opposed Russia's intention to recognize the elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, saying it runs counter to the Minsk protocol and disrupts progress toward finding a sustainable political solution.
"We recall that the Minsk Protocol, co-signed by representatives of the Russian Federation and the two self-proclaimed "republics", foresees early local elections in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in accordance with Ukrainian law on interim self-governance," the statement by an EU spokesperson reads.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Moscow's recognition of the rebel vote would be "a clear violation of the commitments made by both Russia and the separatists" in the truce agreement signed in the Belarussian capital on September 5.
"We see no contradiction to the agreement signed in Minsk," Alessio Morosin told RIA Novosti. "In fact, this agreement stipulates peaceful settlement of the conflict and the elections are the highest expression of democracy."
