Германия не признает законными выборы президента РФ

Earlier, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany (Frank- Steinmeier) announced that he does not intend to congratulate Putin on retaining his position as the head of the Russian state.

«Germany does not consider the elections in Russia to be free or fair,»

«The Chancellor of Germany did not congratulate (Vladimir Putin. — Ed.), and as you know, we do not consider these so-called ‘elections’ in Russia, which took place over the weekend, to be free or fair. The outcome was clearly known in advance,» Hoffman said at a government press conference. «In our assessment, these elections were not democratic: genuine opponents were not allowed, there was an atmosphere of intimidation, there were detentions, and there is no freedom of opinion in Russia. As the Chancellor has already stated, Russia today is a dictatorship, and Vladimir Putin governs authoritatively. Furthermore, from our point of view, the conducting of elections in the Ukrainian regions that are occupied is extremely problematic and worthy of condemnation. We do not recognize this under any circumstances. Only Ukraine has the right to conduct elections in these territories. This is our assessment of these so-called ‘elections,’ and that is why the Chancellor (Olaf Scholz. — Ed.) did not congratulate (Vladimir Putin. — Ed.).»

The German Foreign Ministry called the voting in Russia «pseudo-elections»

Earlier on March 17, the German Foreign Ministry referred to the voting in Russia as «pseudo-elections». «The pseudo-elections in Russia are neither free nor fair, and their outcome is not surprising to anyone,» Berlin said. The current head of the Russian state, Vladimir Putin, «governs authoritatively, relying on censorship, repression, and violence,» the German Foreign Ministry noted.

The German Foreign Ministry also criticized the conduct of voting by the occupying authorities in the Ukrainian regions seized by Russia. «The ‘elections’ in the occupied territories are completely invalid and represent another violation of international law,» Germany stated in its statement.