U.S., NATO applaud Ukraine for holding successful parliamentary elections

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. and NATO congratulated Ukraine for holding successful parliamentary elections on Sunday.

According to a preliminary assessment released by the OSCE's International Election Observatory Mission, the elections "were transparent and assessed positively overall."

The OSCE, U.S., and NATO recognized that unrest in Ukraine's eastern region and the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula by Russia had impacted the ability of all Ukrainians to participate in Sunday's election.

"Despite a challenging security environment in certain regions, millions of Ukrainians turned out across the country to cast their ballots in an orderly and peaceful manner," President Barack Obama remarked Monday.

Secretary of State John Kerry applauded Kiev for its voter outreach to embattled areas, notably in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk.

"Their hard work to provide for alternate voting arrangements, including for internally displaced persons, was a particularly laudable effort to overcome actions by Russian authorities occupying Crimea and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine to prevent voters from exercising their democratic rights."

Obama included a message intended for Moscow in his congratulatory statement:

"I call on Russia to ensure that its proxies in eastern Ukraine allow voters in the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk subject to the Special Status Law to choose their representatives in legitimate local elections on December 7, in keeping with the agreement that Russia and separatist representatives signed in Minsk, Belarus, on September 5, 2014."

NATO Secretary Genera Jens Stoltenberg applauded Ukrainians for embracing "an ambitious reform agenda and a European path. I welcome their determination to further promote an inclusive political process based on democratic values and respect for human rights, minorities and the rule of law."

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's bloc was the clear winner in Sunday's election, followed by Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk's People's Front. Both parties are pro-European and support further Ukranian integration with the European Union.

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U.S., NATO applaud Ukraine for holding successful parliamentary elections