Ukrainians have voted, some of them under difficult conditions, for a fresh pro-European start. Federal government spokesperson Steffen Seibert congratulated Ukrainians on their "clear and courageous vote".
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The German government, he said at the Federal Press Conference, "welcomes the fact that the parliamentary elections throughout Ukraine at the weekend were largely peaceful, free and uncompromised". The results are not yet official, since the direct mandates in particular have still to be counted. Nevertheless the German government can already welcome the strong showing of pro-European forces. The spokesperson expressed the wish "that the new government be formed swiftly".
These elections are an important step "on the way to a further stabilisation in Ukraine", stressed Steffen Seibert. The unfolding results of the election are "an important sign of trust in the work of President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk over recent months". The spokesperson made it quite clear that the Ukrainian people have voted "above all for a fresh start, a fresh start in which extremists and populists are not part of the government".
In the name of the German government, Steffen Seibert congratulated the Ukrainian voters on their clear and courageous decision. "We congratulate Ukraine on these successful elections, which have been held under difficult conditions in some places."
Steffen Seibert also reminded his audience that the elections in the east of the country had not been held everywhere as had been hoped. "In some regions in the east of the country, citizens were not able to exercise their democratic rights." Steffen Seibert criticised isolated attempts to intimidate voters in the run-up to the elections and attacks on polling stations.
With a view to the planned municipal elections in parts of eastern Ukraine, Russia is still called on to make a constructive contribution. "We are convinced that this constructive contribution would mean that Russia must exert an influence on the separatists, to ensure that these municipal elections are held in line with Ukrainian law and that they are monitored by international teams," said Steffen Seibert.
The central government of Ukraine plans to hold municipal elections in Donetsk and Luhansk on 7 December 2014. The separatists who currently exercise power there intend to hold elections in the self-proclaimed "republics" on 2 November.