State Dept: "Russia Can't Be Trusted As Peaceful, Tranquil, Stable Neighbor That Respects Territorial Integrity"

The United States on Wednesday reacted to Russia's chiding other countries, including Azerbaijan, for their positions on the latest sham "elections" in Ukraine's occupied territories.

"Russia has proved through a number of actions in recent years that it is not a neighbor you can really trust on to be a peaceful, tranquil, stable neighbor that respects territorial integrity and sovereignty" State Department's Spokesperson Matthew Miller told TURAN's Washington correspondent during a daily press conference.

"And I would think every country in the region should be aware of that," Miller added.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry protested to Azerbaijan over its statements about last weekend's co-called "elections" in the internationally recognized areas of Ukraine claimed by Moscow, as Baku views the move legally void.

Maria Zakharova, the Ministry spokeswoman, called Azerbaijan's position "unacceptable to us and does not correspond to the allied nature of relations between our countries".

"We proceed from the fact that Baku should treat the territorial integrity of our country with the same respect that Baku expects from us, when it comes to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," she added.

Moscow's “sham elections” in the occupied territories of Ukraine has been overwhelmingly condemned by the international community, most notably, by the G7 and EU.

In their statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the G7 Foreign Ministers said the elections are a further violation of Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty. “Russia has no legitimate basis for any such actions on the territory of Ukraine,” the statement reads.

The United States, in its turn, had pledged last week that it would 'never' recognize Moscow claims to any of Ukraine’s sovereign territory and may sanction anyone involved into the sham "elections"

I am not going to announce or preview any sanctions decision determinations before they are made... but those elections only close I think on Friday, and today’s Wednesday. So it takes some time to put these things into effect," State Departments Miller told Wednesday's briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.