Russian President Putin has officially been sworn in for another six years. This marks the beginning of his fifth term in office – and he could run for office again. Many EU representatives stayed away from the ceremony in Moscow.
Vladimir Putin has officially begun his fifth term as President of Russia. The 71-year-old was sworn in at a ceremony in the Kremlin in Moscow. Being the leader of Russia is a “sacred duty,” Putin said at the inauguration.
“Together we will prevail,” he added. Russia will emerge “stronger” from “this difficult time.” He can now rule for another six years. According to a constitutional reform from 2020, he could then even run again and remain in power until 2036.
The Russian opposition leader in exile and widow of the late regime critic Alexei Navalny, Julija Navalnaya, published a video on YouTube shortly before the ceremony. In it, she urged supporters to continue fighting against Putin, calling him a “murderous tyrant.” “Our country is currently run by a liar, thief and murderer, but this will come to an end,” she said.
Many states considered participation inappropriate
The ceremony in the Moscow Kremlin was designed for many guests – in addition to representatives of the government and both chambers of parliament, foreign diplomats were also invited. However, states within the EU were apparently anything but in agreement about how they should deal with it. As the dpa news agency reports, citing EU diplomats, countries such as France, Hungary and Slovakia wanted to send representatives to Putin’s swearing-in in order to keep communication channels open.
Numerous other states – including Germany – considered participation 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.
Staying away is an excuse for Putin?
A spokesman for the European External Action Service said in advance that no official representative of the European Union would be present at the ceremony in Moscow. 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. Among other things, they are said to have warned that staying away from the ceremony could give Russia an excuse to ignore even more diplomatic rules and norms in the future.
But it wasn’t just EU countries – other states also wanted to send a signal by staying away from Moscow. “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.”
A lot of criticism of Putin’s election
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 with more than 87 percent in a much-criticized election. The opposition was largely eliminated in the election.
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.