The European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the illegitimate presidential elections in Russia and the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
EU Parliament resolution on the Russian presidential elections
The document was supported by 493 votes "for", 11 "against" and 18 "abstentions".
During the meeting on April 25, MEPs called on EU member states and the international community not to recognise the results of the elections in the Russian Federation as legitimate, as they were held in the illegally occupied territories of Ukraine and in Russia, where they were neither free nor fair.
This farcical performance of the Russian government had the sole purpose of creating the appearance of electoral legitimacy for Vladimir Putin, his policy of ruthless internal repression and, above all, for the war of aggression against Ukraine, say MEPs.
The parliament called on member states to limit relations with Putin to issues necessary for regional peace, as well as humanitarian and human rights issues, such as prisoner exchanges, the return of children deported from Ukraine or calls for the release of political prisoners.
At the same time, the parliament believes that the EU "should be in full solidarity with Russian civil society and should apply sanctions to those guilty of human rights violations."
The European Parliament also expressed "regret that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán decided to withdraw from the EU position and congratulated Vladimir Putin on his fictitious re-election."
Fake election of the President of Russia
On March 15-17, the so-called "elections" of the President of the Russian Federation were held in Russia and Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories.
On March 18, Russia's Central Election Commission announced that Putin allegedly won 87.28% of the vote.
This will be the fifth presidential term for Putin, who has ruled Russia since 2000.
