China & North Korea Applaud Putin’s Election Victory

China and North Korea applauded Russian President Vladimir Putin’s victory in a virtually opponent-less election, standing in contrast to the West’s condemnation of a poll that the U.S. called “not free nor fair.”

In a message to Putin relayed by state media, Chinese President Xi Jinping said: “Your re-election fully reflects the support of the Russian people. I believe that under your leadership, Russia will achieve greater national development.”

Xi’s statement continued, “China attaches great importance to the development of the Sino-Russia relations and it is willing to maintain close communications with Russia to promote a sustained, healthy, stable and deep development under the bilateral comprehensive partnership in the new era for the benefits of our people.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing on Monday that “China and Russia are each other’s largest neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners of coordination for a new era.”

“We deeply believe that with the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Putin, China-Russia relations will continue to move forward,” Lin said.

The two geopolitical powers have forged closer ties in recent years due to a shared mistrust of the West, with China giving tacit backing to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Just weeks before the invasion began in February 2022, Putin and Xi signed a joint statement that said the bonds between the two nations had “no limits.”

Upon cementing his power for another six years, Putin said in a victory speech on Sunday that he expects ties with Beijing to become even stronger.

“The relations between Russia and China are a stabilizing factor, while good personal relations between the leaders of the two nations allow [us] to develop ties even further,” Putin said, according to the state news agency Tass. “Our relations have been taking shape over the past two decades. They are very strong and we are complementing each other.”

North Korea, which has shipped ammunation to Russia for use in the conflict and is seen by analysts as receiving support from Moscow for its missile development, also welcomed the victory by the longest serving Russian ruler since Joseph Stalin.

“Kim Jong Un, president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Monday extended congratulations to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin on his reelection to the presidency of the Russian Federation,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

India late on Monday followed with an upbeat statement of its own, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi extending “warm congratulations” to Putin. “Look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come,” Modi’s statement said.

Despite the Ukraine conflict, New Delhi has maintained its longstanding ties with Moscow, while urging a peaceful resolution to the war.

Other powers in Asia were more circumspect.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “I must refrain from giving specifics about the results of other countries’ elections.”

“There is no prospect at all at the moment for a peace treaty due to Russia’s aggression,” Kishida also told reporters in Tokyo.

By contrast, Western nations slammed the Russian election outcome.

French President Emmanuel Macron has become one of the most forceful voices in Europe on the war, saying last month that he could not rule out the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine.

France’s Foreign Ministry said the conditions for a free and democratic election were not respected, while praising Russian citizens who protested “against this attack on their fundamental political rights.”

British Foreign Minister David Cameron said on X, “The polls have closed in Russia, following the illegal holding of elections on Ukrainian territory, a lack of choice for voters and no independent OSCE monitoring,” referring to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. “This is not what free and fair elections look like.”

A spokesperson for U.S. President Joe Biden’s National Security Council said, “The elections were obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him.”

Unsurprisingly, the harshest language came from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“These days, the Russian dictator is simulating another election. It is clear to everyone in the world that this figure, as it has already often happened in the course of history, is simply sick for power and is doing everything to rule forever,” he said.

“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.”

Article Link: https://asia.nikkei.com/