A series of sates, including Moldova, criticized the way the presidential election was held in the Russian Federation on March 15-17, in which Vladimir Putin won his fifth presidential term, IPN reports.

“We cannot speak about free and fair elections there when real opponents are removed from the competition and some are even jailed, while others are driven out of the country, when the repression is so great that the people are afraid to speak, to tell, when there is nothing left of the free press. This is not democracy and this is definitely not what we want to build here. That’s why we want to be a member state of the European Union so as to never see here, in Moldova, what we see today in the Russian Federation,” President Maia Sandu said when asked by the press to comment on the Russian election.

The head of state said that the responsible international organizations will give apraises. “But this is not democracy and it is not a conscious and free choice of the citizens. We want our citizens to be able to choose freely, without fear, consciously and this is why we will continue to work to strengthen democracy and our democracy can be the most protected in the EU,” said Maia Sandu said.

Both France and Germany criticized the way the presidential election was conducted in the Russian Federation. France said Russia had again failed to meet the conditions for free, pluralist and democratic elections after last weekend’s vote that brought Vladimir Putin his fifth term. “The electoral process in Russia took place in the context of increased repression against civil society and any form of opposition to the regime, ever-increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and ban on the operation of independent media,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

In the same connection, the French Ministry noted the death of political opponent Alexei Navalny a few weeks before the election, especially due to the harsh detention conditions. It also expressed regret at the fact that Russia’s three-day presidential election, from Friday to Sunday, was conducted in the absence of impartial international observers.

In a statement in Brussels, where she arrived for a meeting of the EU foreign ministers, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Russian election wasn’t a genuine election, according to agerpres.ro.

Foreign media also quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying that “the Russian dictator is simulating another election” and that Vladimir Putin is “sick for power and is doing everything to rule forever.” “"There is no legitimacy in this imitation of elections and there cannot be. This person should be on trial in The Hague. That's what we have to ensure,” added Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Clearly, the elections are neither free nor fair, given that Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him,” said the White House.

According to the Russian state agency TASS, Vladimir Putin won his fifth term as president of the Russian Federation in the election of March 15-17, with about 87% of the ballot.