– I think what we are hearing is quite horrifying, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to news in New York, where he is participating in the high-level week in the UN General Assembly. The separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk as well as occupied areas in Kherson and Zaporizhzhya claimed on Tuesday that they will hold referendums on 23-27. September to join Russia. – These are regions under occupation and warfare. A large number of people have been forcibly moved out of the areas. The stability you need to hold a free referendum, where people will express their free will, does not exist. The legitimacy of something like that, we must already say, is not there, says Støre. – Can it be seen as an escalation in the war? – I expect that the Russians will send that signal. Trying to hijack land and say that this is now established. Then the world must speak out. That’s not how you can put a country under your belt, says the Prime Minister. Jens Stoltenberg and Jonas Gahr Støre during the UN High Level Week at the world organisation’s headquarters in New York on Tuesday. The NATO chief also reacts strongly to the plans for a referendum in occupied areas of Ukraine. Photo: Pontus Höök / NTB Stoltenberg: – Farce Another person who has reacted strongly after the separatists’ plans became known is NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. For him, the referendums are a “farce”. – The votes have no legitimacy and do not change Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a new escalation in Putin’s war. The international community must condemn this obvious breach of international law and increase support for Ukraine, he wrote on Twitter at around 6pm Norwegian time. Stoltenberg explains to news that the referendums do not change what the war in Ukraine is about: – It is a brutal war of aggression by Russia against an independent country in Europe. He says the votes will worsen the conflict and lead to a military escalation on the part of the Russians. – Russia can then claim that Ukraine is attacking Russian territory. There is every reason to believe that Russia is doing this to provide further arguments for a military escalation, says Stoltenberg. Jens Stoltenberg believes the referendums will be used as a pretext by Russia to step up militarily. Photo: Anders Tvegård / news – Not the actions of a confident country France, Germany and the USA are among the countries that have done as Stoltenberg has asked and condemned. The White House says in a statement on Tuesday that the country will never recognize Russian annexation of Ukrainian territories. – These are not the actions of a confident country. This does not show strength, but the opposite, says the security adviser to US President Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan. He added that Biden himself will say more about the topic and the US’s position at the UN on Wednesday. German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz says Russia must withdraw its forces. Photo: POOL / Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron says on Tuesday that the referendum will never be approved by the international community, while German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz says they cannot be accepted. – It is very, very clear that these fake referendums cannot be accepted and are not covered by international law, Scholz told reporters. Scholz referred to the plans as part of Russia’s “imperialist aggression”. – Russia must withdraw its forces, he said.
ttn-69
– Terrible – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
