The United States on Tuesday denounced Russia’s presidential elections describing it as “undemocratic,” as the Secretary of State Antony Blinken put it.
"... We believe this to be an undemocratic process. It’s something that I know the Secretary agrees with" State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told TURAN's Washington correspondent during a daily briefing.
In a statement, Blinken explained his assessment citing the Kremlin's decision to bar two candidates from the ballot who opposed the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia’s recent presidential election occurred in an environment of intense repression of independent voices and the imprisonment, death, or exile of virtually all genuine political opposition,” Blinken noted. “The Kremlin has systematically marginalized groups advocating for democratic processes and rule of law, including election monitors.”
“These steps illustrate the extent to which the Kremlin has denied its citizens a transparent, meaningful democratic process,” he continued. “Against this backdrop, this election can only be described as undemocratic.”
Blinken also highlighted the recent death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been jailed for his resistance to Putin. Navalny suffered “years of harassment and cruel treatment at the hands of Russian authorities for his continued efforts to foster genuine democracy in Russia,” Blinken said.
“Vladimir Putin is depriving Russian citizens of access to information, including to inform political participation,” Blinken went on to conclude. “Regardless of the predetermined outcome of this election, the United States will continue to stand with those who are pursuing a brighter future for Russia.”
The Secretary also reminded that the Kremlin conducted sham presidential elections in temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine as a blatant propaganda exercise, in the hopes it would strengthen Russia’s illegitimate claim to the parts of Ukraine it illegally invaded and now occupies.
"All of those territories, we believe them to be Ukraine," Patel told TURAN on Tuesday.
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