Putin announces his victory in the Russian presidential elections. The official results indicated that the vote received an overwhelming percentage of 87.28%, amid criticism from the West that he was not democratic. But China and India sent congratulatory messages. Meanwhile, the Russian leader warns that a direct conflict between Russia and NATO could mean World War III, including calling on Macron to stop incitement and find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
After three days of voting, the Russian Election Commission announced, on Monday, March 18, that President Vladimir Putin received a new record of about 76 million votes, or 87.28% of the total votes. They saw him win a fifth term as president, making him Russia's longest-serving leader in more than 200 years of history.
While on the morning of the same day during a press conference at his campaign headquarters in Moscow. Putin thanked the people for their support and trust. We are prepared to state that efforts to intimidate or obstruct Russia will never succeed, now or in the future. He also thanked the Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
Ukraine attempted to disrupt Russia's three-day election by launching attacks on Moscow-controlled Russian and Ukrainian territory, while there were also incidents in which protesters destroyed objects at some polling stations.
The Kremlin expressed its hope that these elections would be held. This is evidence that the Russian people still support large-scale military operations in Ukraine. The elections were held in the territory of Ukraine that Russia occupied and annexed.
But for the West, they have been condemning the elections in Russia since their beginning. It highlights all of Putin's main rivals in the presidential election. All of them died, were imprisoned, or went into exile. Putin also ordered the crackdown on those who openly oppose the Russian government or the war in Ukraine.
A White House spokesperson issued a statement on Sunday (17) that the Russian elections “clearly neither freedom nor justice.”
While European Union foreign ministers such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom made these statements upon their arrival in Brussels for a meeting on Monday, refusing to accept the election results, which they said were fraudulent. Both illegal and undemocratic
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the Russian elections for their lack of legitimacy. Attacking Putin, a “dictator addicted to power”
However, many countries outside the Western camp, including China, India, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia, North Korea and Burma, congratulated Putin on his election victory.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have said similar things. In the message, they also expressed their congratulations. It expects to maintain and strengthen the existing partnership with Russia.
Earlier on Sunday (17), Putin warned of a direct conflict between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) led by the United States. It may mean that World War III is only one step away before it is said that no one wants this to happen.
Putin made this statement after a Reuters reporter asked him about his opinion of President Emmanuel's position. Macron of France has previously announced this and does not rule out the possibility of sending NATO forces to Ukraine in the future. While many Western allies disagree. But some countries, especially in Eastern Europe, support this.
The Russian President said that there are already NATO soldiers on the Ukrainian battlefield. There are English and French speakers. This was not a good thing because many of these soldiers died on the battlefield.
Putin also said he hopes Macron will stop provoking war in Ukraine. She shifted to the role of finding a peaceful end to the war, stressing that Russia is ready to negotiate peace. If Ukraine wants peaceful relations and good neighbors in the long term, it is not because it has run out of bullets.
The Russian President also responded to Western criticism of the recent elections, pointing out that the American elections themselves are not democratic. In addition, state power is being used to deal with Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in the November presidential election.
(Source: Reuters, AFP, AFP)
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