Ukraine: 'No legal basis’ for recognizing Putin as Russia’s president

ISTANBUL

Ukraine declared on Monday that it sees “no legal basis” for recognizing Vladimir Putin as Russia’s president, ahead of Moscow's inauguration ceremony where he will be sworn in for another six-year term.

“Based on the foregoing and the International Criminal Court's active arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, Ukraine sees no legal basis for recognizing him as the democratically elected and legitimate president of the Russian Federation,” said a statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

The statement accused Russia of violating numerous international documents during the country’s presidential election in March, namely through the organization of voting procedures in territories annexed by Russia in 2022 — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

It went on to say that the election process carried out in these territories “constituted a brutal violation of the generally recognized norms and principles of international law.”

“Despite warnings from authoritative international institutions, the Russian Federation's actions once again demonstrate that its leadership does not recognize its responsibility and is unwilling to end the illegal, unprovoked, and unjustified full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine,” the statement further said.

It also said Russia uses voter participation and results to “justify its military invasion of Ukraine and aggressive policies toward other countries.”

The statement called on foreign countries, international organizations, and the public to not recognize the results of the Russian presidential election or Putin as a “legitimate president.”​​​​​​​