Russia will open polling stations at three of its diplomatic or consular missions in the United States for the March presidential election, its ambassador to Washington announced on Wednesday.
This announcement comes at a time when relations between the two countries are at their lowest point since the Cold War due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia, hit by a series of Western sanctions and sending its soldiers to attack Ukraine in 2022, has not yet decided whether to set up polling stations in European countries considered “unfriendly.”
The vote is scheduled for March 17th. President Vladimir Putin, who has ruled Russia since 2000, has announced his intention to run for a fifth term. This means he should be able to stay in the Kremlin at least until 2030, the year in which he turns 78. There is little doubt about his re-election in a country where any real opposition has been crushed.
“In the United States, we plan to open three polling stations: at our embassy in Washington and at our consulates in New York and Houston,” Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said Wednesday in an interview published by his embassy.
The United States has supplied Ukraine with weapons against Russian forces and Western countries have imposed heavy economic sanctions on Moscow.
Russia said last week that it had not yet decided whether to open polling stations in Europe. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reported demands to ensure their safety and said a decision would be made before the end of January.
Since the Russian offensive in Ukraine began in February 2022, thousands of Russians have fled their country, many of them living in European Union countries.