Russia's opposition PARNAS party will not campaign for Russia's upcoming legislative elections in the annexed region of Crimea because the Ukrainian government has denied permission for it to do so.
"We will follow Ukraine's decision and act in accordance with international law," the PARNAS branch in Krasnodar region wrote on the VKontakte social network on August 18.
Oleksiy Makeyev, the director of Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's department for policy and communications, told RFE/RL on August 18 that Kyiv cannot officially allow a Russian political party to conduct any activities on Ukraine's "occupied territories."
PARNAS leader and former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told RFE/RL in March that his party considers Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea illegal and that he would return control of the peninsula to Ukraine.
On August 18, Ukraine complained to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) about the Russia-dominated organization's plan to send election monitors to the peninsula.
The parliamentary elections in Russia are scheduled for September 18
