The Élysée Palace announced on Friday that French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a phone conversation to release Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The palace's statement read: "The President of the Republic once again called for the release of Alexei Navalny after a year has passed since the assassination attempt ... in accordance with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights."
Macron also expressed hopes that the upcoming Russian parliamentary elections in September will be conducted according to the standards of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Western countries aim to undermine internal political stability in Russia ahead of the elections by making unfounded accusations regarding citizen Alexei Navalny and other issues. "The Federal Security Service of Russia and our other special structures monitor and work against such extreme threats," Lavrov explained.
He noted that the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs approved a report on July 15 concerning the future of political relations between the European Union and Russia, which calls on member states to prepare for not recognizing the results of the Russian parliament elections "in the event of violations of democratic principles."
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia should avoid empty and populist rhetoric during the election campaign, indicating that the federal parliamentary elections will take place next fall, with significant election campaigns occurring in the regions. Putin called for fair and transparent competition, respect for all opponents, and strict adherence to the rules of law and political ethics. The upcoming elections in Russia will be held at various levels, including parliamentary, on September 19, 2021, during the unified voting day.
