NEW YORK, September 16 (RIA Novosti) – NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has rejected Crimea's recent elections and urged Russia to reverse its reunification with the Black Sea peninsula, the alliance's chief said in a statement Tuesday.
"NATO does not recognize the reported elections held on 14 September in the autonomous republic of Crimea, Ukraine. We continue to condemn Russia's illegal and illegitimate "annexation" of Crimea and its continued and deliberate destabilization of eastern Ukraine in violation of international law," Rasmussen said.
"We call on Russia to reverse its illegal and illegitimate "annexation" of Crimea, which we do not and will not recognize. We stand united in our support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders," the statement read.
Crimean voters, alongside voters from other regions of Russia, went to the polls on September 14 to elect local and regional officials.
Crimea reunified with Russia in March following a referendum on the region's status, with 96 percent of the voters being in favor of reunification. The West has refused to recognize the results of the vote calling it illegal. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a speech following the referendum stressed that it was held in full compliance with democratic procedures and rules of international law.
