From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 18, 2024
Iran, China quick to congratulate Putin on election win as others reject vote
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is among the first to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his “decisive” win in Russia’s presidential election, state media reports.
“The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a message sincerely congratulated Vladimir Putin on his decisive victory and re-election as the President of the Russian Federation,” state news agency IRNA reports.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also sends a congratulatory message to Putin, saying his re-election “fully reflects the support of the Russian people,” Beijing’s state media reports.
The tone from the West is starkly different, with France and others charging that Putin’s re-election was neither fair nor free.
The French Foreign Ministry says in a statement that the vote took place in a context of repression within civil society and the conditions for a free and democratic election were not respected.
The ministry also praises the courage of “the many Russian citizens who peacefully protested against this attack on their fundamental political rights.”
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also says the vote lacks legitimacy.
“In this atmosphere of non-freedom definitely there can be no elections,” Landsbergis says before a meeting with fellow ministers from the EU in Brussels.
Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide in Russia’s election on Sunday, cementing his already tight grip on power in a victory he said showed Moscow had been right to stand up to the West and send its troops into Ukraine.
