Today, Vladimir Putin officially begins six more years as Russia’s president with his inauguration. The EU states have different opinions about taking part in the ceremony: many, including Germany, do not want to be there.
Today, Tuesday, Vladimir Putin will be officially re-introduced to the Russian presidency – in order to rule the country for another six years. The ceremony in the Moscow Kremlin is designed for many guests – in addition to representatives of the government and the two chambers of parliament, high-ranking foreign guests are also expected to take part. However, the states within the EU were apparently anything but in agreement about how they should deal with the invitations.
As the dpa news agency reports, citing EU diplomats, countries such as France, Hungary and Slovakia definitely want to send representatives to Putin’s swearing-in in order to keep communication channels open.
Germany’s ambassador for consultations in Berlin
However, numerous other countries – including Germany – will not be represented. They consider participation to be inappropriate given Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. “Germany will not take part in this event,” a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office confirmed on Monday.
In the case of Germany, the acting ambassador for Russia, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, is currently not in Moscow. Against the background of the cyber attacks on the SPD and numerous German companies attributed to Russia, the federal government recently called him back to Berlin for consultations. The government blames a Russian military intelligence unit for the attacks.
EU foreign policy chief Borell will be missing
Also, no official representative of the European Union will be present at the ceremony in Moscow, a spokesman for the European External Action Service said. Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell had previously spoken out against the EU’s participation in the event.
According to diplomats, however, there were also dissenting voices. These are said to have warned, among other things, that staying away from the ceremony could give Russia an excuse to ignore even more diplomatic rules and norms in the future.
The USA is not sending a representative either
But it’s not just EU countries – other states also want to send a signal by staying away from Moscow. The USA will not attend Putin’s oath of office either. “We will not have a representative at his inauguration,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Asked whether the move meant the U.S. viewed Putin as illegitimate, Miller said: “We certainly didn’t view this election as free and fair, but he is the president of Russia and he will continue to hold that office.”
The 71-year-old Putin has led Russia as president or prime minister since the turn of the millennium. In March, he was confirmed for a fifth term in office – and thus another six years – in a much-criticised election with more than 87 percent.
The EU had sharply criticized the conduct of the election. In a statement, it said the Russian electorate had very limited access to factual information and “no real choice.” The reason for this was, among other things, that numerous candidates were excluded – including all those who spoke out against Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.