Obama congratulates Ukraine on ‘successful’ election
President Barack Obama has congratulated the people of Ukraine on ‘holding successful parliamentary elections’ Sunday, as a partial vote count shows pro-Europe forces decisively ahead in the poll.
Noting a “challenging security environment” created by continued fighting between government and pro-Russia separatist forces in the country’s east, Obama lauded the voting as “orderly and peaceful,” and “largely in line with international standards,” according to a statement issued by the White House Monday.
With “Russian authorities occupying Crimea and Russian-backed separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine [preventing] many Ukrainian citizens from exercising their democratic rights,” Obama called on Moscow to allow voters in the restive Donetsk and Luhansk to freely hold elections, scheduled by Kyiv for December 7.
Source: VOANews.com
(Photo of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, by Jurij Skoblenko via flickr.com)
