Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat has said the bloc he represents doent not recognise elections organised in occupied areas inside Ukraine.
He also threatened that those who are behind organising these polls will be severely punished.
The results of Russia’s election in occupied territories of Ukraine are “null and void,” and the election organizers “will face consequences of these illegal actions,” Josep Borrell said on Monday.
The Russian authorities organized the election not only in Russia, but also in regions of Ukraine under Russian occupation, namely parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, as well as Crimea.
The EU “does not and never will recognize either the holding of these so-called elections,” Borrell said.
The EU also “regrets” Russia’s decision not to invite OSCE election observers, which goes against Russia’s commitments to the OSCE and “has denied Russia’s voters and institutions an impartial and independent assessment of these elections.”
According to Borrell, the EU “will continue to support the important work of Russian civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and independent media.”
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection on March 18, becoming one of the few democratically elected leaders to do so.
“(I) look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come,” Modi said via platform X.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday congratulated Vladimir Putin on his reelection as Russian president.
In recent years, the Russian people have united as one, overcome challenges, and made steady progress towards national development and revitalization, Xi said, adding that the reelection of Putin as Russian president fully reflects the Russian people’s support for him.
Russia will surely make greater achievement in national development and construction under Putin’s leadership, Xi said.
The three-day Russian presidential election that concluded on March 17 resulted in 87.2% of the vote going toward Putin.
Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday that President Vladimir Putin’s “record” re-election results over the weekend showed the country was united behind the longtime leader.
“This is a record figure,” CEC head Ella Pamfilova said after more than 99% of the ballots had been counted.
“The turnout is a record, an unprecedented 77.44%. This has never happened in the history of the new Russia,” she added.
“We proved to ourselves that we are an independent nation… and in the face of the West, we showed that we are united. We are proud of this,” Pamfilova said.
