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2024 Russian Presidential Election

Russians to face rising pressure in Baltic states ahead of presidential vote — Russian MFA

According to Gennady Askaldovich, Russia will direct its efforts to publicly expose the ulterior motives of its opponents and will work to counter any efforts to prevent Russians from voting abroad

MOSCOW, March 5. / TASS/. Officials in the Baltic states will ramp up attempts to intimidate Russians that plan to cast their votes in their country’s presidential election, said Gennady Askaldovich, an ambassador-at-large at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

He made the comment at a meeting of the Federation Council Commission on the Protection of State Sovereignty and Prevention of Interference in Russia’s Internal Affairs.

"In general, Russophobia in the West continues to go off the charts. We do not rule out that the process of intimidation of our compatriots, for example in Latvia, will intensify. Insulting statements against the Russian state have started coming from another Baltic republic - Estonia," he said. "I would call it a manifestation of provincial vengefulness and hostility. Normal citizens will face unprecedented pressure to stay home and not participate in the elections under the threat of all kinds of repressions."

"There will also be struggle on the issue of recognizing the legitimacy of our elections," he said. "Right now unfriendly countries are saying that they will not recognize elections in Russia’s new territories. Representatives of the non-systemic opposition are pushing these countries to go even further: to not recognize elections as legitimate on the entire territory of Russia. There are no grounds for this."

According to Askaldovich, Russia will direct its efforts to publicly expose the ulterior motives of its opponents and will work to counter any efforts to prevent Russians from voting abroad.

"We will strive to demonstrate to the world that sophisticated media warfare technologies are being used against us and that universally recognized norms of international law are being flouted," the diplomat said.

The upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, has set the presidential election for March 17, 2024. The Russian Central Election Commission announced that the voting will last three days: March 15, 16 and 17, making it the first presidential election in Russia that will last three days.

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Foreign policy 2024 Russian Presidential Election

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