Russian leader refuses to participate in pre-election debates

Secretary of the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) Natalya Budarina has announced that presidential candidate Vladimir Putin refused to participate in pre-election debates.

Budarina made the remarks at a CEC meeting, Kommersant reports.

“The Central Election Commission received a document confirming Putin’s refusal to participate in pre-election debates on all Russian state TV channels and radio,” she added.

The Russian presidential elections will be held from March 15 to 17.