The President's course, West’s failure to discredit Russian vote: Lavrov's statements

MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed confidence that the State Duma election results will confirm the Russian people’s commitment to the domestic and foreign policy course set by President Vladimir Putin.

Talking to reporters, Lavrov emphasized that officials had exposed all Western attempts to portray the parliamentary elections as undemocratic.

Officials ultimately exposed all attempts to interfere in the electoral process or portray the current State Duma elections as undemocratic: "There are more external factors involved in these elections than ever before... direct attempts to interfere in the conduct of the elections and to portray them as unfree or undemocratic. We have exposed all these attempts."

Western countries are "creating obstacles to the expression of the will of Russian citizens," particularly in the Baltic states: "Just days before our elections began, the European Union approved a statement - which it will likely release soon - declaring them invalid according to European democratic standards."

The election results in Russia will serve as the primary response to the West's hostile campaign against the vote: "The main response will be precisely what we learn in the next few minutes - or hours - regarding the outcome of the election campaign."

The results of the current State Duma elections will confirm the Russian people's commitment to the course originally set for Russia's foreign and domestic policy by President Vladimir Putin: "I have not the slightest doubt that the results will confirm the commitment of all our parties and voters to the course defined by the President - both domestically and regarding our foreign policy."

The State Duma must remain sovereign, reflect the country's national interests, and share the policies of the President: "At this stage, I believe that all the parties that were part of the State Duma - and, I hope, all those who win in the current elections - share the President's domestic and foreign policies."