Ukraine at U.N. Says Putin's Crimea Decree 'Null and Void'
Ukraine's U.N. ambassador on Thursday dismissed as "null and void" a decree by President Vladimir Putin incorporating annexed Crimea into the southern region of Russia.
Volodymyr Yelchenko said he will ask the Security Council to issue a statement reaffirming Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in response to the decree, even though he fully expects Russia to block it.
"The decision is null and void as any other decision taken by Crimea so far," Yelchenko told reporters, adding that there was "indignation" in Kiev over the move.
The proposed statement would refer to a U.N. General Assembly resolution that rejected Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
"We would not be surprised if Russia will block this press statement but it will show again who stands where," said the ambassador.
Putin issued a decree merging Crimea into the southern federal district of Russia to strengthen the work of federal state bodies, the Kremlin press service said.
Wading into the U.S. election campaign, the Ukrainian ambassador said he expected any future U.S. president to respect U.N. decisions rejecting Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said he would consider recognizing Crimea as part of Russia and lifting sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to the land grab.
"Mister Trump is not the president of the United States, at least not yet," said Yelchenko.
"There are well-known decisions of the United Nations," he added. "I am pretty sure that any U.S. government will pay full respect to those decisions."
Source: Agence France Presse
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