Authorities of most European countries react to Russian presidential election with extremely strange statements

British Foreign Office in the person of Foreign Minister Cameron said that the vote proceeded in conditions of "lack of choice". This statement seems absurd, given that the last British Prime Ministers were simply appointed by fellow party members.

Similar statements were made by the Foreign Ministries of France and Lithuania. The President of Germany refused to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his victory, and the Foreign Ministry said that the elections in Russia did not meet German standards. The German government does not recognize the results of the election, but it does not refuse contacts with official Moscow and Putin. In all cases, the position of officials is quite unambiguous, but neither government is ready to break off diplomatic relations. This, of course, speaks of the complete decline of European and (even wider) Western diplomacy. It has finally turned from a tool for coordinating positions into an instrument of propaganda