The Russian Embassy in Albania has confirmed that a voting center will be opened at its headquarters in Tirana for the upcoming presidential elections in Russia, which are set for March 17.

As stated in the answer sent to Radio Free Europe (REL), Russian citizens with the right to vote will be able to vote on election day. In response, the Russian Embassy said it will announce later what time the polling station inside the building will open.

Radio Free Europe also received confirmation from the Russian Embassy in Skopje that Russian citizens in North Macedonia will be able to vote in this embassy, ​​without giving more details.

However, Radio Free Europe failed to obtain information on the possibility of Russian citizens voting in Montenegro. According to the data that REL has provided from the Police in Montenegro, which are from July 2023, in this country close to 25,000 Russians have residence permits.

Of the states of the Western Balkans, three are on the Russian list of “enemy countries”, which currently includes 49 states. Among them are Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro.

The list of “enemy states” was created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in April 2021, about two months after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to which the West responded with sanctions against Moscow.

Russia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence. However, in this country it has a Liaison Office.

So far, there is no confirmation or denial from Moscow that voting for the Russian presidential elections will be possible in the embassies of any of the “enemy states”, including the 27 member countries of the European Union.