Ukrainian separatist region voted into Russia Macron: fake referendum will not be recognized

[Central News Agency] The 77th United Nations General Assembly was held in New York, and the Russian-Ukrainian war was the main topic.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview today that the referendum promoted by Russia in its support of separatist regions is a "ridiculous fake referendum" that has no legal significance and will not be recognized by the international community.

The UN General Assembly is taking place in New York this week, with the Russian-Ukrainian war as one of the main focuses.

Amid the ongoing fighting, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that a Russian-backed separatist region of Ukraine is bound to hold a referendum to decide whether to join Russia.

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The People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as the four separatist regions occupied and infiltrated by the Russian army in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions have all advocated referendums.

Ukraine, for its part, said the referendum threat was "naive blackmail" and showed that Russia had become alarmed before it changed its tactics.

However, these areas are now controlled by officials backed by Russia. The remarks are regarded as a calculated strategy by Russia, and they are also worried that Russia will use the referendum result as evidence of the legitimacy of Russia's sending troops to protect local interests, arguing that the invasion is to protect the interests of the region necessary action.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to speak again with Russian President Vladimir Poutine in a few days, spoke on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this afternoon on Russia's conduct of the referendum.

"I think it's a ridiculous mock referendum. The only fact that exists is that the war was started by Russia, that Ukraine fought against it, and we want to stop it."

"This is an additional provocation ... it will not have any judicial repercussions," he said, calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory and respecting national borders. "It is cynic to hold a referendum in an area where people are bombed and displaced." .

He stressed that the results would not be recognized by the international community.

Macron also spoke at the UN General Assembly later, denouncing Russia's aggression against Ukraine at length.

He pointed out that "Russia deliberately violated the United Nations Charter. This sets a precedent for other wars of aggression, which may happen again in Asia, Africa or Latin America".

Describing Russia's aggression as a "return to imperial and colonial times", he called for global cooperation. "This war hurts the sovereignty of all people" and reiterated that the referendum Russia wanted to hold was a fake referendum.

Macron went on to mention climate change, "Our first war is to eradicate carbon use, and China and other emerging countries should make a clear decision," and called on the Group of Seven (G7) to lead by example in saving energy.

Finally, Macron called for reform of the UN Security Council to make it more representative, including adding new permanent members and limiting the use of the veto in large-scale crimes.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the United Nations General Assembly has finally been held in person again this year. 150 heads of state from around the world attended to discuss such thorny issues as global and regional security, climate warming, food security, North-South differences and the Russian-Ukrainian war.

(Editor: Chen Zhengyi) 1110921