Obama to finally call Putin after Russian election
Matryoshka dolls in the likeness of late singer Michael Jackson, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama stand on display at in St. Petersburg, Russia. Obama is finally calling to congratulate Putin on his recent election win, which international observers say is shadowed in fraud.
President Obama’s deputy press secretary said the American leader is about to call his Russian counterpart.
Aboard Air Force 1, Josh Earnest told the press gallery following the president to Virginia that Obama would speak to Putin, but wouldn’t provide a context for that phone call.
“Technology-willing it's probably occurring right now,” Earnest told CNN at about 11:30 a.m. EST.
He said the White House would provide a transcript of the call later today.
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The call comes five days after Putin won Russia’s election amid protests and allegations of voter manipulation, Reuters reported.
The official count had Putin winning 63 percent of the vote, but international monitors have called those numbers into question.
Two days ago, a group called League of Voters rejected the election results and accused Putin of fraud, BBC reported.
While the group acknowledged Putin won the election, it said the margin was just 53 percent which could mean wider problems with the vote.
Two international monitoring groups urged Russia to investigate.
“On March 4, civic society in Russia was dealt an insult and the institutions of the Russian presidency, the Russian electoral system and the Russian Federation's state authorities as a whole were discredited," a League of Voters statement said. "The count was accompanied by systematic falsification."
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