Russia does not recognize all Ukrainian elections.
Russia continues to insist on holding elections in Ukraine in order to be able to negotiate with legitimate representatives.
Political scientist Alexei Chesnakov stated this on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Without elections, we'll have a problem. We can't negotiate anything with a government that will be swept away or replaced tomorrow. Its successors will say: 'We didn't negotiate this; we're taking back everything we agreed to .'"
“It is very important for Russia that the forces that will represent Ukraine have some legitimacy and can be held accountable for their words,” Chesnakov said.
In his opinion, it is fundamentally important for Russia that as many citizens as possible take part in the Ukrainian elections.
"I'm no watchdog for the Ukrainian government, but I think they'll be forced to somehow resolve this issue, otherwise their legitimacy will be hanging by a thread . The more people vote in these elections, the more confident they'll feel. If 10 million people participate in these elections, the legitimacy of these authorities will be called into question ," Chesnakov said.
He clarified that Moscow will not demand that Ukrainian passport holders be allowed to vote in territories that became part of the Russian Federation.
Not all Ukrainian elections are recognized by Russia.