Russian opposition leader in exile denounces “massive falsification”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this Monday that the Russian presidential elections, won by a large margin by the current head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, were neither free nor fair.

“The elections in Russia were neither fair nor free,” Stoltenberg said during a joint press conference in Tbilisi with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobajidze, as part of his visit to the three South Caucasus countries.

On the eve of the elections, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stated that for free and fair elections there would need to be competition, different lists, an open debate and a free and independent press.

“But there is no free and independent press in Russia,” he stressed.

The Central Election Commission of Russia reported that, with almost 100% of all electoral districts counted, Putin obtained 87.29% of the votes, with almost 76 million voters voting for the Russian President, the highest number of votes ever. The presidential elections began on Friday and ended on Sunday.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, Stoltenberg stressed that the Atlantic Alliance also considered the elections in the Ukrainian regions annexed by Moscow, such as Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia, to be “illegal”.

Putin denounced the day before that NATO soldiers are already fighting in Ukraine and dying “in large numbers”.

Stoltenberg took the opportunity to consider that Russia’s actions in Ukraine and the breakaway Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, whose independence was recognized by Moscow in 2008, are “absolutely illegal”.

“Georgia is one of NATO’s closest partners, we support Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia,” he added.

Stoltenberg also highlighted the validity of the Bucharest NATO Summit, held in 2002, which opened the door to the possibility of Georgia joining the Atlantic Alliance.

“Russia is pursuing an imperialist policy,” he said, underlining the importance of increasing support for Ukraine, which is currently facing a difficult situation on the battlefield in the face of advancing Russian forces.

Stoltenberg added that, with the head of the Government of Georgia, he analyzed security issues in the Black Sea this Monday.

“This is an issue that concerns both Georgia and NATO. With our support, Ukraine is attacking the Russian fleet in the Black Sea,” he concluded.

Stoltenberg arrived in Georgia this Monday, from Azerbaijan, as part of a tour to the South Caucasus to meet with Kobajidze and President Salome Zurabishvili.

The visit of the NATO secretary general ends on Tuesday in Armenia.