PM Shehbaz felicitates Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday congratulated Vladimir Putin on his re-election as Russian President for the fifth time.

In a statement on social media platform X, he expressed the desire to work with the Russian president to further strengthen Pakistan-Russia relations.

President Vladimir Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide in Russia’s election on Sunday, cementing his already tight grip on power in a victory he said showed Moscow had been right to stand up to the West and send its troops into Ukraine.

Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who first rose to power in 1999, made it clear that the result should send a message to the West that its leaders will have to reckon with an emboldened Russia, whether in war or in peace, for many more years to come.

The outcome means Putin, 71, is set to embark on a new six-year term that will see him overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years if he completes it.

Putin won 87.8% of the vote, the highest-ever result in Russia’s post-Soviet history, according to an exit poll by pollster the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM).

The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) put Putin on 87%. The first official results indicated the polls were accurate. Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov came second with just under 4%, newcomer Vladislav Davankov third, and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky fourth, results suggested.

“The elections are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him,” the White House’s National Security Council spokesperson said.