Western leaders have condemned Putin’s absolute victory. They criticized the victory as partisan and undemocratic.
The results were definitely announced, as there was no strong rival, Vladimir Putin became the head of state of Russia again. In this election, about 87 percent of the votes were in his favor.
However, Putin’s absolute victory has caused a storm of condemnation by Western leaders. They criticized the victory as partisan and undemocratic. However, this Russian leader is not alone in international politics. He was welcomed by the leaders of various countries including China, India and North Korea as he was elected as the President of Russia in another round.
The negative reaction of European leaders following Putin’s victory further accentuated the widening geopolitical rift following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has plunged Russia’s relations with the West into its worst post-Cold War crisis.
European Union (EU) foreign ministers in Brussels agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on the torture of Putin critic Alexei Navalny and those involved in his death. Earlier, they rejected the results of the Russian presidential election.
At the beginning of the meeting, German Foreign Minister Annalena Bierbock said, “The elections in Russia were uncontested.”
Russia refers to the military operation in Ukraine as a “special military operation”. French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourn said that Paris is keeping an eye on this “special election campaign” by pointing to Putin.
Regarding the presidential election in Russia, the French Foreign Ministry said, “the conditions of a free, pluralistic and democratic election have not been met.”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the election results showed Russia’s “depth of repression”. There is no democracy in crowning a winner by eliminating political opponents and controlling the media.
This time, the people of the occupied territories of Ukraine outside the Russian mainland also voted in the presidential election. France, the UK and others have also condemned it.
However, Russia rejected the Western criticism. The country claims that Vladimir Putin got 87 percent of the votes in this three-day election. The vote undoubtedly marked the country’s popular support for Putin.
On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the Russian election illegal. “It is very clear to the world that Vladimir Putin is sick of his lust for power,” he said. He can do everything for the greed of power.
A White House spokesman said on Sunday that Russia’s election was “clearly not free or fair”. However, President Joe Biden has not commented on this so far.
Who congratulated Putin
Western condemnation of Russian elections is not new. However, the opposite practice has been observed in other parts of the world. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Putin. He said China would maintain close contact with the country to uphold the “unlimited” partnership it had made with Russia in 2022, just before invading Ukraine.
In a congratulatory message to Putin, Xi Jinping said, “I believe Russia will achieve great success under your leadership.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated. He said India was looking forward to further strengthening the “functional and privileged strategic partnership” with Russia.
BRICS is a group of emerging economies formed to challenge US dominance in the global economy. India, China and Russia are members of this alliance.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi also congratulated Putin. At this time, they emphasized on further expansion of their bilateral relations with Russia. Kim and Raisi were accused by the West of supplying weapons to Russia.
Notably, with this victory, Vladimir Putin confirmed himself as Russia’s longest-serving statesman in the last two centuries.
