Former oligarch Mykhailo Khodorkovsky, an opponent of the Kremlin who is now in exile, called on Western governments not to recognize the victory of Vladimir Putin in the elections and assured that the opposition was united against the Russian president, writes AFP.
“Now it’s about finally publicly acknowledging Putin’s illegitimacy,” Khodorkovsky told reporters in Berlin on Monday.
“We expect a lot from Western society, which we ask to urge their governments not to recognize Putin’s legitimacy,” the former oligarch said at an event organized by the Center for Liberal Modernity think tank.
“When Western heads of state and government shake Putin’s hand, it means a very strong legitimization of Putin in his country,” he added.
Former oil tycoon Mykhailo Khodorkovsky spent ten years in prison after defying Putin in the early 2000s. After his release in 2013, he found refuge in London, where he finances opposition platforms.
Khodorkovsky met in Berlin on Sunday with Yulia Navalny, the widow of opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in prison last month, outside the Russian embassy in the German capital, where Navalny was voting in Russia’s presidential election.
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Source: Hot News
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