PACE did not recognize Putin's legitimacy

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe published a resolution in which it refused to recognize the legitimacy of Vladimir Putin as president and called on European countries to stop contacts with Russia, with the exception of humanitarian ones.

The resolution states that Putin assumed the presidency in 2024 as a result of elections that were not free and fair. Since coming to power, Putin has been building a regime whose goal is to wage war against democracy.

PACE states: “Not a single genuine opponent of Vladimir Putin was allowed to run. Moreover, polling stations for these elections were opened on sovereign Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and in the Moldovan administrative-territorial units of the Left Bank of the Dniester, which is a gross violation of the UN Charter and the principle of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of all states.”

The Assembly called Russia a "de facto dictatorship" and a "merely formal" federation that enforces Putin's cult of personality "through fascist-style propaganda."

PACE also condemned the Russian practice of including political opponents of the regime on lists of terrorists and extremists. According to PACE, this leads to abuse of the Interpol system. The authors of the document expressed concern that Putin’s order to the FSB “to take decisive measures against the enemies of the country” could lead to further political assassinations both within the country and abroad.

In addition, the assembly found Putin guilty of the murder of Alexei Navalny, whom PACE called “the last critic of Vladimir Putin.” The PACE resolution writes that Navalny was subjected to systematic torture and was imprisoned for no reason. In this regard, PACE calls for an independent investigation into Navalny’s death with the involvement of an international commission and an end to the persecution of family members and supporters of the politician.

Other demands of the assembly include strengthening sanctions against Russia, providing military assistance to Ukraine from the United States, creating an international mechanism for payments to victims of the war in Ukraine, conducting prisoner exchanges to free Russian political prisoners, creating a registry of states, as well as individuals and legal entities that help Russia circumvent sanctions and continue the war in Ukraine.

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