At a press conference held on March 18, 2024, the representative of the German Cabinet of Ministers, Christiane Hofmann, stated that the “so-called elections in Russia” were “neither free nor fair.”
“The result was clear in advance. “It was an undemocratic election,” she said. “There was an atmosphere of intimidation. <...> There is no freedom of speech in Russia. Russia, and the Chancellor has already spoken about this, is now a dictatorship and is under the authoritarian rule of Vladimir Putin.” She sharply condemned the holding of voting in the occupied territories.
When asked whether the German authorities will call Putin “president or ruler,” German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer replied that recently the department has been using only the surname Putin, without any official title.
Berlin does not consider the presidential elections held in Russia on March 15-17 to be legitimate. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not congratulate Vladimir Putin on his victory. This statement was made on Monday, March 18, by the deputy official representative of the German government, Christiane Hoffmann. Earlier, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced that he did not intend to congratulate Putin on retaining his powers as head of the Russian state.
The French Foreign Ministry said that “the conditions for free, pluralistic and democratic elections were once again not met,” noting that they took place without “any impartial international observation.”
“The presidential elections in Russia cannot be considered legal, free and fair,” the Polish Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The voting took place under conditions of severe repression against the population, which made free democratic choice impossible.”
The topic of repression was later picked up by British Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron. “Putin eliminates his political opponents, controls the media and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy,” he emphasized.
The European Union said neither yes nor no
In the manual EU expressed regret over the absence of OSCE observers at the Russian presidential elections and criticized the voting, which “took place under conditions of severe restrictions.” The corresponding statement was published by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell. However, it does not follow from his statement that the EU does not recognize the results of the elections in Russia.
“The elections took place in an increasingly narrowing political space, which led to an alarming increase in violations of civil and political rights, prevented many candidates from participating in the elections, including all those who opposed Russia’s illegal aggressive war, deprived Russian voters of real choice and severely limited their access to reliable information,” the statement said.
Borrell also drew attention to the systematic increase in repression in Russia and, in particular, to the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the colony. The statement also emphasizes that the European Union does not recognize the holding of voting in the annexed Ukrainian regions. “The so-called ‘elections’ in these territories represent another clear violation by Russia of international law, including the UN Charter, as well as the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Borrell stressed.
The Greek Foreign Ministry, as well as the current head of government, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou have not yet given any statements regarding the elections in the Russian Federation, apparently awaiting the final reaction from Brussels.
It remains questionable what to do with the ambassador and other diplomats of the Russian Federation in EU countries that have not recognized Putin as president. Indeed, if the current head of state is not recognized, ambassadors cannot present him with credentials. This means they must leave the state.
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