The United States said on Monday that Russia’s presidential election, which re-elected Vladimir Putin, was not free and that it would not welcome him, AFP reported.

Elections in RussiaPhoto: Taisia ​​Vorontsova / Sputnik / Profimedia

“This was an incredibly undemocratic process,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

Asked whether Washington would refuse to recognize the results of the vote, as dissidents have demanded, Vedant Patel said: “I think it’s fair to say there probably won’t be a phone call with the United States.”

The spokesman also criticized the fact that the vote was under pressure, as no real challenger to Vladimir Putin could run, while all dissenting voices are suppressed.

Russians “deserve free and fair elections and the opportunity to choose from a pool of candidates who represent a wide and diverse range of views.”

The Russian president, who has been in power for almost a quarter of a century, won more than 87 percent of the vote, 10 points more than in 2018.

Vladimir Putin won a new six-year term as Russia’s president on Sunday, despite protests at polling stations and accusations that the vote was neither free nor fair.

On the same topic:

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  • The Russians’ vote for Putin must be accepted, Italian Vice Prime Minister Matteo Salvini believes

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