Russian Embassy Slams David Cameron With Bizarre Take On Putin’s Presidential Election

The Russian embassy in the UK took aim at foreign secretary David Cameron in a strange rant on Tuesday.

Cameron said the election – which saw president Vladimir Putin re-elected for his fifth term – was “not democracy”, especially after Moscow tried to “silence any opposition to his illegal war”.

But, in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) and on its website, the Russian embassy claimed Cameron “has made knowingly biased assessments” on the outcome of the presidential election.

The Russian embassy alleged: “In the past few days British officials surpassed themselves in hypocritical statements designed to discredit the free expression of the will of the Russian people.”

Footage widely shared online shows how many of the electorate  – in both Russia and occupied parts of Ukraine – were forced to vote under the watchful eye of armed troops.

Putin also said he secured a whopping 87% of the vote, the largest share he’s claimed since he got into power in 2000.

The embassy continued: “British diplomatic and consular missions in Russia were on the verge of blatantly interfering in its internal affairs by practically inciting to spoil ballots during polling days.”

Those opposing the Putin regime had called for voters to silently protest his authoritarianism by writing “Navalny” on the ballot paper, in honour of the president’s deceased political opponent.

The embassy described Cameron’s remarks about the election being undemocratic as “unacceptable”.

It added they could not be “interpreted as anything but evidence of London’s desperation” to destabilise the Kremlin.

It concluded that “the British establishment has become nervous” at the sight of Russia’s “maturity and unity” and ongoing support for the Ukraine war.

“We call on London to abandon its confrontational logic and the promotion of anti-Russian rhetoric,” the embassy said.

Ignoring Russia’s own ongoing attacks on Ukraine, the embassy said: “It is immoral to sponsor and cover up the pervasive crimes of the Ukrainian military that relishes its strikes against new regions of the Russian Federation.”

The presidential election appeared to allow voters to support either Putin – in power for almost 25 years – or one of three other candidates, all of whom have also publicly voiced their backing for the president.

Putin’s most prominent critic, Alexei Navalny, was imprisoned by Russian authorities in 2021 on charges widely seen as politically motivated.

He died under mysterious circumstances earlier this year while serving a lengthy sentence in an Arctic penal colony.

The Russian president acknowledged his death for the first time in his victory speech after his re-election.

He claimed that he had intended to do a prisoner swap with Navalny before his death though there is no evidence to support this.

On what caused his opponent’s demise, Putin said:  “It happens. There is nothing you can do about it. It’s life.”