Russia announces results of local, regional elections

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Central Election Commission on Monday summarized the results of the local and regional elections held on Sunday.

Russia on Sunday held over 5,000 regional and local votings in 85 regions, including elections of governors, regional and city parliaments, cities' mayors.

In Moscow, where opposition inability to enter the local parliamentary elections in September led to mass protests, Kremlin opponents won votes in 20 of 45 electorate districts.

Meanwhile, the EU on Monday said it will not recognize the holding of elections in the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia following an illegal independence vote in 2014.

"Anybody elected in the Crimean peninsula claiming to 'represent' the populations of Crimea and Sevastopol will not be recognized as representatives of those territories, which are Ukrainian," an EU spokesperson said in a statement.

The EU continues to condemn Moscow's violation of international law, and support Ukrainian territorial integrity and sovereignty, it added.

Along with the EU, the UN, the U.S., and Turkey do not recognize Crimea as Russian territory.

* Diyar Guldogan from Ankara contributed to this report