Tegas, South Korea Do Not Want To Admit To The Annexation Of The Ukrainian Region By Russia

Ken Rhee, South Korea's volunteer forces after returning from Ukraine (Photo: Reuters via ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The South Korean government on Saturday said it was not willing to admit Russia's recent annexation of the Ukrainian territory, condemning Moscow's invasion of the eastern European nation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, September 30, signed a number of pacts to annex four regions in Ukraine, following a referendum in the region late last month.

"The Korean government strongly condemns Russia's armed invasion of Ukraine as a violation of the UN Charter principles," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk said in a statement quoted by Yonhap, Saturday, October 1.

"The Korean government does not want to acknowledge the referendum held in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson and the validity of Russia's annexation of Ukraine," he said.

South Korea calls for Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence to be respected. Since Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, Seoul has also imposed international sanctions on Moscow and sent aid to Kiev.