The European Union is preparing special observers who "will secretly monitor" the Russian State Duma elections, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the online project "Sama Menshova" as quoted by TASS news agency.
"We are currently receiving information that the European Union is beginning to train some special observers who will secretly monitor how our elections are conducted," the Russian top diplomat noted.
"They should look at themselves: back in 2004 in Ukraine, it was the West that forced a third round of voting. They compelled the Constitutional Court of Ukraine – which is supposed to uphold the country's fundamental law, even though it makes no provision for a third round--to make that decision," Lavrov continued. "Lo and behold, they did it, and it was Viktor Yushchenko who came to power instead of [former Ukrainian President] Viktor Yanukovych."
The Russian minister also recalled the 2025 elections in Romania. "In the first stage, everything was absolutely clean--none of the observers noticed anything amiss--and the winner was a man who advocated not for blindly following Brussels' orders, but for articulating Romania's national interests. Even though there was nothing to catch on to, he was simply 'taken out of the race,' and that was that," Lavrov said.
Elections for deputies to the ninth convocation of the State Duma will take place from September 18 to 20, 2026.
