A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said:
The Duma elections on 17 to 19 September represent a serious step back for democratic freedoms in Russia. The measures taken by the Russian authorities to marginalise civil society, silence independent media and exclude genuine opposition candidates from participating in the elections undermine political plurality and are at odds with the international commitments that Russia has signed up to.
We are also disappointed by the undue limitations Russia has placed on election monitoring, including by international observers – a key element of democratic scrutiny.
We condemn the holding of these elections on Ukraine’s sovereign territory, and reiterate that the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014 was illegal and illegitimate, and remains so to this day.
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