The Ministry of Foreign Affairs named the arguments on the basis of which Western leaders can recognize the elections in Russia as illegitimate

One of the arguments for Western leaders not to recognize the results of the upcoming elections in Russia, where Vladimir Putin has a high chance of "winning," is the occupation of Ukrainian territories. This opinion was expressed by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova to the journalist of UNN.

It seems to me that the Russian Federation has discredited itself as a country that can be a partner, as a country that has any democratic processes. At the same time, they are trying to imitate these democratic processes. Russia has "snatched" a part of a country's sovereign territory from it, where it holds elections. Look at Crimea, look at Donetsk and Luhansk regions and all other newly occupied territories. Therefore, accordingly, the elections cannot be legitimate, since they include elections in the occupied territories,

The deputy foreign minister noted that, in her opinion, this is the main argument.

"I'm not talking about the moral aspect of a country that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council brutally attacking a neighboring country and still being a country that is still accepted at other international venues. This is a question to the whole humanity and to the partners," Dzhaparova said.

She noted that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is right that the Western world should understand for itself the need to non-recognize the elections in Russia, where Putin's "victory" is high.

"Obviously, he (Zelensky - ed.) relies on a sense of ethics, which, unfortunately, is in question today, and we had a situation before World War II, when some European leaders of the most powerful countries continued to shake hands with Hitler, signing an agreement with him... But the world moved into the phase of World War II," Dzhaparova said.

Addendum

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy statedthat after the presidential election in Russia, where Vladimir Putin's "victory" is highly probable, the game will be on the side of Western leaders - to recognize the results of the election in Russia or not. But the illegitimacy of President Putin could be a turning point.

For the first time, the presidential election in Russia will be a multi-day event, taking place from March 15 to 17.

On December 8, Putin announcedthat he would run for the presidency in 2024.