The White House on Friday mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he would run for re-election in 2024, with the US executive suggesting there was little doubt about the outcome. “Well, this is shaping up to be an epic battle, isn’t it?” John Kirby, the current spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said aboard Air Force One. when asked about the Kremlin master’s announcement. “That’s all I have to say about it,” he added.
Vladimir Putin, 71, announced on Friday that he was a candidate for a 5th term in the presidential election on March 17 in Russia, his re-election leaving little doubt after almost a quarter of a century in power and the repression of the opposition. The head of the Kremlin, whom a constitutional revision of 2020 authorizes to be a candidate again in 2024 and 2030, can theoretically remain until 2036, the year he turns 84.