The State Duma, Russia's lower parliamentary chamber, accused the United States and other NATO countries on Monday of attempting to interfere with the international observation of its upcoming presidential election. Vasily Piskarev, chair of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, slammed the recent travel advisories issued by some countries, warning against travel to Russia due to potential terrorist threats, as a "dirty provocation."
"We expect more than a thousand observers from about 100 countries to participate in the upcoming [presidential] election. In this regard, we consider NATO's destructive information campaign as another dirty provocation and an attempt to prevent broad international observation of the Russian election," the commission's Telegram channel quoted Piskarev as saying.
The upcoming presidential election, scheduled from March 15 to 17, 2024, marks Russia's first three-day voting period. This extended timeframe is designed to facilitate broader participation amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
