MOSCOW, March 20./TASS/. The reaction of Western countries to the presidential election in Russia was predictable, but the way it was framed was shameful, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko told a plenary session of the upper house of parliament.

"The reaction from Western countries was expected, but the form in which it was expressed - was simply shameful. A series of statements that were copy-pasted - generic, empty, out of touch with reality, denying the obvious - perfectly organized voting, the free, direct expression of the will of the Russian people," Matviyenko said.

She also emphasized that the statements from Western leaders about the Russian presidential election were a direct insult to Russian citizens. "What these officials said, I personally see it not just as a lie, but as a direct insult to millions of our Russian citizens. This way they absolutely cynically deny the civic-mindedness of millions of Russians," the Federation Council speaker said.

Matviyenko noted that such statements are also an affront to international observers who "worked conscientiously over these days in Russia and recorded the absolute transparency of this vote." She emphasized that it is the people who decide where Russia goes. "This is our strength and our difference from 'free, progressive' Ukraine, where power is so blatantly usurped and detached from the people that the presidential election there was simply canceled in defiance of the law and all democratic principles," Matviyenko said.