“I strongly condemn the organisation by armed separatists of so-called elections in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk on 2 November. These “elections” are illegal and in contradiction to the commitments made in Minsk, and will not be recognised by the international community.

I regret that Moscow failed to distance itself from these actions, and I condemn efforts by other individuals and organisations to legitimize this vote.

I urge again all signatories of the Minsk agreements, including Russia, to abide by their commitment to work towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Eastern Ukraine and to refrain from any further destabilising actions.”