Liz Truss Elected as British Prime Minister, President Putin: British People Don't Take Part

Vladimir Putin. (Source: Kremlin.ru/TASS/Sergey Bobylev)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Britain's way of selecting its leaders was "far from democratic", a day after Liz Truss was announced to have won the election against Rishi Sunak, to replace Boris Johnson.

In his first public comments on Truss' appointment, President Putin alluded to the fact that he was chosen in the leadership vote by members of the Conservative Party, not by the whole country.

"The people of Great Britain do not take part, in this case, in a change of government. The ruling elite there has their own set of rules", he said at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, TASS 7 September.

Asked about prospects for relations with Britain, President Putin said: "We know the position of the Tories (Conservatives) on these questions, including on relations with Russia. It is their business how to build relations with the Russian Federation.

"Our business is to defend our own interests and we will do it consistently, no one doubts that", he said.

It is known that while serving as foreign minister, Truss irritated Moscow with what he saw as Russophobic comments and vocal support for Ukraine.

Yesterday, Russian politicians and media have reacted with criticism and ridicule for his appointment.

It is known, that Liz Truss won the Conservative Party leadership contest, as well as the seat of British Prime Minister, after beating her rival former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak by a significant margin of votes.

After weeks of the leadership contest, Truss emerged victorious in the Conservative Party vote, with 81,326 votes to 60,399.