Germany refused to recognize the results of the Russian State Duma elections because they were held in the occupied territories of Ukraine with the participation of the residents of Crimea, Donetsk, and the Luhansk regions.
There are credible reports of massive irregularities in the Russian Duma elections, a German government spokesman said on Monday, as the vote's results were finalized.
As usual, Russia's ruling United Russia party, which supports President Vladimir Putin, retained its parliamentary majority after an election and a sweeping crackdown on its critics, but opponents alleged widespread fraud.
A representative of the German Cabinet of Ministers, Ulrike Demmer, stressed that Russia's occupation of Crimea is a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. According to her, Germany will never recognize the annexation of the peninsula.
"Therefore, of course, we do not recognize holding the elections in Crimea," she said according to TASS.
Ulrike Demmer added that providing to residents of the so-called "DPR" and "LPR" who hold illegally obtained Russian passports, an opportunity to vote in the Duma elections is a violation of the international law.