Lhe G7 leaders spoke with one voice in denouncing the “false referendums” on annexation organized by Russia in Ukraine. They assure that they will “never” recognize these “illegitimate” polls and “strongly” condemn them. In a statement issued by Germany, which holds the group’s presidency this year, they say: “We will never recognize these referendums which seem to be a step towards Russian annexation”, nor “a so-called annexation if it takes place”. “We call on all countries to unequivocally reject these mock referendums,” they added.
Moscow wants to “create a false pretext to change the status of Ukrainian sovereign territory, which is the subject of ongoing Russian aggression”, and “these actions clearly violate the Charter of the United Nations and international law”, according to them. For the G7, “these sham referendums […] have neither legal effect nor legitimacy, as evidenced by Russia’s hasty organizing methods, which in no way respect democratic standards, and its blatant intimidation of local populations”.
READ ALSOAnders Fogh Rasmussen: “Emmanuel Macron has harmed Ukraine and weakened it”
“These referendums in areas forcibly placed under temporary Russian control do not in any way represent a legitimate expression of the will of the Ukrainian people, who have consistently resisted Russian efforts to change borders by force,” they added. denounced the leaders of the G7. Thursday, the foreign ministers of the G7, as well as the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, had condemned the “escalation” of Moscow in the conflict in Ukraine, at the end of a meeting in margin of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. And in particular “the partial mobilization of reservists and the irresponsible nuclear rhetoric” of Moscow.
Joe Biden threatens Russia with retaliation
The United States “will work with [leurs] allies and partners to inflict rapid and severe additional economic measures on Russia “if it annexes territories in Ukraine, Joe Biden warned in a statement on Friday. “Russia’s referendums are a sham, a spurious motive to try to annex parts of Ukraine by force,” denounced the American president, who has already taken several sets of economic and financial sanctions against the regime of Vladimir Poutine.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the rest of the world to condemn the “pseudo-referendums” organized by Russia and underway in four territories it has conquered in Ukraine since the start of its invasion. In his daily address to the nation, Volodymyr Zelensky said he was convinced that “the world will react with the greatest justice to the pseudo-referendums” and that these “will be unequivocally condemned”.