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The re-election of Vladimir Putin as Russian President has generated mixed reactions from world leaders.
Leading the friends and allies of Russia to congratulate the 71-year-old president, China believes its relations with Russia will continue to move forward.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Lin Jian, said this while congratulating Putin at a press conference on Monday, March 18, 2024.
“China expresses its congratulations on this,” he said.
Continuing, Jina said, “China and Russia are each other’s largest neighbours and comprehensive strategic cooperative partners in the new era.”
Similarly, Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, sees Putin's election victory as a good development for his country and his people.
He said, “The Serb people welcomed with joy the victory of President Putin for they see in him a great statesman and a friend on whom we can always count and who will watch over our people.”
In his congratulatory message, Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro said, “Our older brother has triumphed, which bodes well for the world.”
Some leaders are not pleased with Putin's victory
However, while some leaders are positive about Putin’s victory, other European leaders have dismissed his election, describing it as illegal.
Reacting, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, decried Putin’s tendency to ‘rule forever.’
He said, “Everyone in the world understands that this person, like many others throughout history, has become sick with power and will stop at nothing to rule forever.”
“There is no evil he would not do to maintain his personal power. And no one in the world would have been safeguarded from this.”
Also condemning the election, Britain’s foreign minister, David Cameron, described the poll as “illegal” due to “a lack of choice for voters and no independent OSCE monitoring.”
“This is not what free and fair elections look like,” he stated.
In his opinion, Antonio Tajani, Italy’s Foreign Minister believes the “elections were neither free nor fair.”
“We are continuing to work for a just peace that will bring Russia to put an end to the war of aggression against Ukraine, in accordance with international law,” Tajani submitted.
Czech Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavsky, joined in knocking the development, saying the election was a “farce and parody.”
“This was the Russian presidential election that showed how this regime suppresses civil society, independent media, opposition,” he said.