Poroshenko Expects Boosted Int'l Sanctions On Russia After Donbas Elections

Poroshenko Expects Boosted Int'l Sanctions on Russia After Donbas Elections

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday that he expected the international sanctions against Moscow to get worse after the upcoming elections in Donbas.

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th November, 2018) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday that he expected the international sanctions against Moscow to get worse after the upcoming elections in Donbas.

The elections of the heads and members of the parliaments of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk are scheduled for November 11. The Ukrainian authorities have already stated that they would not recognize the election results. The United States, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium and Germany have also condemned the upcoming vote.

"The elections on November 11 will trigger the imposition of new sanctions and show that the patience of the West has its limits. Now it is the time to talk about the strengthening, not weakening, of anti-Russia sanctions," Poroshenko said at a conference.

On Tuesday, First Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament Iryna Herashchenko called on EU countries and the so-called Normandy Four � Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France � to impose sanctions on Moscow for allegedly organizing the elections in Donbas.

Relations between Moscow and Kiev deteriorated in 2014 after Crimea's reunification with Russia and amid the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs and being involved in the conflict in Donbas. The European Union and the United States imposed restrictive measures against Russian individuals, companies and economic sectors, while Moscow responded by imposing restrictions on food imports from the countries that supported the sanctions.

Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations, stressing that it is not party to the internal conflict in Ukraine and wanted Kiev to overcome its political and economic crises.