The German government’s statement that the state does not recognize the past presidential elections in Russia as legitimate could lead to a deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two countries, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Dmitry Novikov told NEWS.ru. According to him, such declarations constitute interference in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation.
Any attempts to make such assessments are classic interference in the internal affairs of Russia. Therefore, comments will probably be made through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Such statements run counter to normal relations between countries that have diplomatic relations. I don’t think that this will radically affect Russian-German relations. Unfortunately, they are already at a very low level. Although the prospects for further degradation are still possible and quite real,” Novikov said.
Earlier, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in response to the criticism of the German Foreign Ministry of the presidential elections in Russia and the anti-Russian policy of NATO, said that “the whole country united and fought back.” According to her, this is not surprising after the military bloc “barks at” Moscow every day.
Zakharova recalled that Western countries have been actively trying to disrupt the presidential elections in Russia over the past year. They carried out disinformation campaigns in the cyber environment and tried to influence the opinions of citizens with the help of “paid opposition,” she stated.