President Vladimir Putin was sworn in for a new six-year term on Tuesday (May 7) at a Kremlin ceremony, boycotted by the U.S. and other Western countries, at which he said he was potentially open to nuclear talks with the West.

Moscow

President Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for a new six-year term during a ceremony at the Kremlin, which was marked by the absence of representatives from the United States and other Western nations. During his speech, Putin expressed a willingness for Russia to engage in nuclear dialogue with the West, contingent on their approach towards cooperation or confrontation. His comments come amid escalating tensions due to Russia's military actions in Ukraine and its effects on international relations.

Putin's latest term follows a decisive victory in a March election, criticized by some as being heavily controlled and excluding significant opposition figures on purportedly technical grounds. The election's legitimacy was questioned by the opposition and external observers, with claims of it being a facade. This term will extend Putin's leadership, which has alternated between the presidency and the prime minister position since 1999, in a political landscape where dissenting voices have been marginalized through imprisonment or exile.

The inauguration took place against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in Ukraine and a domestic political scenario in which significant opposition figures are either incarcerated or in exile. Notably, Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of the Putin administration, died under mysterious circumstances in an Arctic penal colony. Internationally, Putin's administration faces confrontation with Western countries, accusing them of exploiting the Ukrainian crisis to undermine Russia. Amidst these challenges, a key decision facing Putin is the future of the New START agreement with the United States, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads each country can possess and is up for renewal or replacement by 2026. Following constitutional protocol, Putin has directed the current government to retain its position temporarily until he forms a new administration, expected to feature many incumbents.



Putin starts new six-year term with challenge to West

Putin. Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was up to the West to choose between confrontation and cooperation, as he was sworn in for a new six-year term on Tuesday. The ceremony in a gilded Kremlin hall was boycotted by the United States and other Western countries over Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. Amid rising tensions, Putin said he was not rejecting dialogue with the West, including on nuclear weapons. We have been and will continue to be open to strengthening good relations with all countries that see Russia as a reliable and honest partner. And this is truly the world's majority. We do not refuse dialogue with Western countries. The choice is theirs, whether they intend to continue to try to restrain Russia's development, to continue a policy of aggression, continuous pressure on our country for years, or to seek a path to cooperation and peace. Putin won a landslide victory in March in a tightly controlled election, from which two anti-war candidates were barred on technical grounds. The opposition called it a sham. Tuesday's ceremony marked the leader's fifth term as president, having been in power in either this role or as prime minister since 1999. The United States, which said it did not consider his re-election free and fair, stayed away from the inauguration ceremony, along with Britain, Canada and most European Union nations. France, however, said it would send its ambassador. Putin begins his new mandate more than two years after he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine and dominates the domestic political landscape. Leading opposition figures are in prison or exile. His best-known critic Alexei Navalny died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony in February. Internationally, Putin is locked in a confrontation with Western countries he accuses of using Ukraine as a vehicle to try to defeat and dismember Russia. One of the decisions awaiting Putin in his new term will be whether to seek to renew or replace the last remaining treaty that limits Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear warheads. The New START agreement is due to expire in 2026. In line with the constitution, the government re-signed at the start of the new presidential term. Putin ordered it to remain in office while he appoints a new one, which is expected to include many of the same faces.

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