The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine stated that they see no reason to recognize Vladimir Putin as the democratically elected and legitimate president of Russia.
This is stated in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, made against the background of the "inauguration" of Vladimir Putin, which will take place in Russia on May 7, 2024.
"[By introducing Putin to the post of president], the Russian government is trying to create for the whole world and its citizens the illusion of legality of the almost lifelong stay in power of a person who turned the Russian Federation into an aggressor state and the ruling regime into a dictatorship," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that during the presidential "elections" in March 2024, Russia violated the provisions of numerous international documents, which are the basis of the modern system of international relations. It is primarily about the Charter of the United Nations, the Declaration on the Principles of International Law, the Geneva Convention on the Protection of the Civilian Population in Time of War, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as dozens of resolutions of the UN General Assembly.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that Russia "brutally" violated the principles of international law when it organized the so-called elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine — parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions and in Crimea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that, in view of such actions, the Russian authorities do not recognize their responsibility and are not going to stop armed aggression against Ukraine.
"Based on this, as well as taking into account the current order of the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Vladimir Putin, Ukraine sees no legal grounds for recognizing him as the democratically elected and legitimate president of the Russian Federation," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized.
Ukraine calls on other states, international organizations and the public not to recognize the results of the Russian pseudo-elections and the legitimacy of Putin.
"Inauguration" of Putin
The so-called inauguration of Putin will be held on May 7. Some European countries have announced that their representatives will not be at the ceremony. In particular, such statements have already been made by the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In addition, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan will not attend the ceremony.
European Union spokesman Peter Stano said during the briefing that European countries received an invitation from Russia to participate in Putinʼs "inauguration" ceremony, but now they are considering what the joint response to this invitation from the entire EU could be.
Moreover, according to Stano, the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell, opposes the EU taking part in Putinʼs "inauguration".
- On April 17, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported a resolution calling Vladimir Putin the illegitimate president of the Russian Federation. The document emphasized that under the rule of Putin, Russia has effectively become a dictatorship, and his regime adheres to the neo-imperialist ideology of "Russian peace", which the Kremlin has turned into a tool for inciting war.