• President Vladimir Putin is set to secure a new six-year term in the March 15-17 vote, surpassing Josef Stalin.
• Antonov expects the Americans to fulfill their obligations to ensure diplomatic mission security.
• Russia has warned the U.S. ambassador of potential expulsion for interfering in its internal affairs.

On Monday, Ambassador Anatoly Antonov stated that the Russian embassy in Washington maintains “close contact” with the U.S. State Department ahead of Russia’s presidential election this week to guarantee the security of the diplomatic mission.

President Vladimir Putin, who initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, is poised to secure a new six-year term in the March 15-17 vote. This victory would allow him to surpass Josef Stalin and claim the title of Russia’s longest-serving leader in over 200 years.

“In the conditions of constant provocations, the embassy works calmly. We are dealing with issues related to the organization of the upcoming elections in a business-like manner,” Antonov was cited as saying on the embassy’s Telegram messaging channel. “We are in close contact with the Secret Service of the State Department. We expect that the Americans will fulfill their obligations to ensure the security of the diplomatic mission.”

Antonov did not specify the provocations he referred to, stating only that the “degree of Russophobic rhetoric” of President Joe Biden’s administration “is off the chart.”

Last week, Russia summoned the U.S. ambassador in Moscow to issue a warning that it would expel U.S. diplomats whom it perceives as interfering in its internal affairs through “subversive actions and the spread of information” related to the election.

In late February, Biden labeled Putin a “crazy SOB,” and during his State of the Union address last week, the U.S. president declared in remarks directed at Putin that he “will not bow down.”

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