Western governments on Monday, the 18th of March, condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s landslide re-election as unfair and undemocratic, while China, India and North Korea congratulated the long-serving leader, pointing to geopolitical rifts that have deepened since Russia invaded Ukraine and soured relations, reports Reuters.
EU foreign ministers arrived in Brussels on Monday and denounced the election results as sham before agreeing sanctions against individuals involved with the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
At the start of the meeting, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that
the Russian elections were without choice.
Reflecting on what Moscow calls the war in Ukraine, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne sarcastically called Putin’s victory a “special election operation”, with Paris declaring that the requirements for free and democratic elections had not been respected.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the election results showed the “severity of repression” in Russia, with Putin eliminating political opponents, controlling the media and then crowning himself the winner.
“This is not democracy”, Cameron said.
France, Britain and other countries have criticised Russia for holding elections in the occupied regions of Ukraine, with Kremlin rejecting these criticisms, pointing to Putin’s 87% victory as proof of the Russian people’s support for his leadership.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that the Russian elections lacked legitimacy and criticised Putin’s hunger for power, with Putin doing everything “to rule forever”.
Although US President Joe Biden has not yet commented, a White House spokesman said on Sunday that the Russian elections “were clearly neither free nor fair”.
On the other hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Putin
and said he would maintain close cooperation to promote the “no limits” partnership. Xi expressed confidence in Putin’s leadership, saying that under his leadership Russia would make further progress in the country’s development.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman praised Putin’s “decisive” victory and both leaders expressed their readiness to continue “effective coordination” in the OPEC+ group of oil producers. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his desire to strengthen New Delhi’s “time-tested special and privileged strategic partnership” with Moscow.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, both accused by the West of supplying arms to Russia, also congratulated Putin, stressing their desire to further expand bilateral relations with Moscow.
Also read: VIDEO | Putin wins “elections” without serious competition
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