The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the 18 September 2016 State Duma elections in the Russian Federation raises concerns as it can be used by the aggressor to legitimize its actions, Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Affairs Hanna Hopko has said.

"The report does not illustrate the fact that the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation were held by Russian occupying authority, including in the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol annexed by Russia. At the same time the results of these illegitimate elections are included in the election report throughout the Russian Federation that calls into question its validity and it can be used by the aggressor to legitimize its actions in the future. Such an approach used by the OSCE may be regarded as a covert attempt to legalize the illegal annexation of the part of Ukraine's territory," Hopko said in a statement posted on the official website of the parliament.

The head of the Foreign Committee said that the Verkhovna Rada recognized holding of the so-called elections to the Russia's State Duma in the occupied Crimea as illegal, thus, it did not recognize the legitimacy of the elected State Duma.

"We believe that such elections are serious violation of the law, the Constitution of Ukraine, the basic principles and norms of international law, the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the Budapest Memorandum, the UN Resolution on Territorial Integrity of Ukraine, as well as other international instruments," Hopko's statement reads.