Putin is not president, this vote was not an election

The EPP Group is calling on the Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Brussels today to officially declare that Vladimir Putin is not a legitimate president of Russia and that the so-called presidential election lacked any legitimacy.

 "The EU is preparing a new package of sanctions targeting those involved in the death of Alexei Navalny. This is the right thing to do, but in addition to sanctions, the EU Member States should first officially declare that there have been no elections in Russia and that Vladimir Putin cannot be considered the leader of the country. Vladimir Putin is not a president, and the voting was not an election," says Rasa Juknevičienė MEP, EPP Group’s Vice-Chair in charge of foreign affairs.

“Media representatives worldwide should also be aware that reporting about the results of the vote, high turnout or exit polls is only spreading Kremlin’s lies. There will be no choice in Russia as long as the political opponents of Vladimir Putin and those willing to live their lives independently of the Kremlin are imprisoned, murdered or forced into exile. The procedure we have witnessed this weekend was only the Kremlin’s special psychological operation, carried out because the regime is afraid of people’s real choice," Juknevičienė emphasises.

“The only difference between 20th-century dictators and 21st-century dictators is that the 21st-century dictators pretend to be supported by the citizens. In the 20th century under the Soviet empire, Stalin did not need any elections to stay in power as long as he wanted. In the 21st century, the era of the restoration of the Russian empire, Putin for some reason wants to have a simulation of elections in addition to staying in power for as long as he wants," adds Andrius Kubilius MEP, the European Parliament’s lead Member on Russia.

“There were no presidential elections in Russia and no president was elected because Russians could not make any choice. Very similar to the so-called parliamentary vote in Belarus in February this year. Discussing Putin’s legitimacy is akin to discussing the legitimacy of a mafia boss. There is only one alternative for Russia: either a state without elections and without a legitimate president or a Russia without Putin. From now on, we can call Putin many things: dictator, war criminal, Kremlin mafia boss, but we cannot call him a president,” Kubilius stresses.