NATO: Planned 'elections' by rebel groups in Ukraine illegal

BRUSSELS, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- NATO reiterated Friday that separatist elections scheduled to be held Nov. 2 in Ukraine's restive eastern region violate both Ukrainian laws and the Minsk cease-fire agreement.

According to the Minsk Protocol, Dec. 7 was agreed upon as the date for early elections in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"The planned 'elections' organized by self-appointed and armed rebel groups in parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions on Sunday undermine efforts towards a resolution of the conflict," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would recognize the separatist elections, telling LifeNews television and the Izvestia newspaper the elections "will be very important from the point of view of the legitimization of power."

Moscow's endorsement of the illegal elections, Stoltenberg countered, "show that Russia continues its efforts to destabilize Ukraine."

U.S. President Barack Obama earlier this week urged Russia to support "legitimate local elections on December 7, in keeping with the agreement that Russia and separatist representatives signed in Minsk, Belarus, on September 5, 2014."