Ewa Malcher
Poland does not recognise the results of so called referenda undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity conducted in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry reported.
The referenda were organised by illegal, armed, separatist groups against the international law as well as the Ukrainian Constitution and laws. The referenda will lead to a further deterioration of the tense situation in eastern Ukraine, the ministry's spokesman wrote in a press release.
Poland supports steps designed to seek a peaceful solution of the conflict in Ukraine and efforts taken by international organisations, especially the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Marcin Wojciechowski wrote.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the conflict should be solved and national dialogue conducted in accordance with the Ukrainian law. "Poland supports efforts of the Kiev authorities to prepare and implement a decentralisation reform which in our opinion will help achieve national reconciliation and reduce tension", the ministry wrote.
Residents in eastern Ukraine on Sunday cast their votes in so called independence referenda, defying the central government which called the ballots illegal and funded by neighboring Russia. The votes seek approval for declaring so-called sovereign people's republics in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where pro-Russian insurgents have seized government buildings and clashed with police and Ukrainian troops over the past month.
Ukraine's interim president warned that independence for eastern regions would destroy the country's economy. (PAP)
