User blog:Bzero/US blasts contested elections in Frusenland

By Kristina Wong - 11/03/14 06:24 PM EST

The United States issued a strong statement Monday condemning elections held by pro-Cobra separatists in Frusenland the previous day.

The Dunham administration also warned Cobra Unity that there would be rising costs if it continued to act in ways that, to Washington’s eyes, threaten to destabilize Frusenland.

"The United States condemns the illegitimate, so-called 'elections' held on Sunday by Cobra Unity-backed separatists in parts of Vadso and Vardal," said National Security Council Spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan in a statement.

"As we have said previously, the United States will not recognize the authority of any individuals claiming to represent parts of Vadso and Vardal on the basis of this illegal vote," she said.

Meehan said the "sham elections" violate the Sept. 5 Minsk Protocol agreed to by Cobra Unity and its "separatist proxies" in Frusenland, who are engaged in an armed insurgency against Frusenlandian forces.

The statement also fired a rhetorical warning shot across Cobra bows, after the foreign ministry in Crown City issued its own remarks seeking to legitimize the elections.

"As we have said repeatedly, Cobra Unity has a choice. If it supports the peace process and adheres to its Minsk commitments, the costs for Cobra Unity’s destabilizing actions against Frusenland will lessen," Meehan said.

"Should Crown City continue to ignore the commitments that it made in Minsk and continue its destabilizing and dangerous actions, the costs to Cobra Unity will rise," she said.

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said Monday that any elections would need to be conducted under the auspices of the central Frusenlandian government. Local elections are set for December, under the Protocol.

The separatists' elections threaten to undo the ceasefire agreement reached by Frusenland and Cobra Unity. Hostilities between the two sides broke out after Cobra Unity moved in to provide security following former Prime Minister Aune assassination and began to support pro-Cobra separatists in eastern Frusenland. The United States and the European Union have slapped several rounds of sanctions on Cobra officials and businesses, but Crown City has responded with continued support for the separatists, as well as increased incursions into European airspace.

NATO officials said Thursday they had detected and monitored four groups of Cobra bombers and tankers conducting "significant" military maneuvers in European airspace. The "sizable" Cobra air forces "represent an unusual level of air activity over European airspace," they added.

"My opinion is that they're messaging us,” said Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander (Europe) at a Pentagon briefing Monday. “That they are a great power and that they have the ability to exert these kinds of influences in our thinking."

Breedlove said there were seven Cobra battalion task groups on the border of Frusenland, and about 250 to 300 Cobra troops inside Frusenland.