EBN- Russia’s president Vladimir Putin was sworn in for a fifth term as president, amid renewed nuclear saber-rattling with the West over his war in Ukraine.
Placing his hand on a copy of Russia’s constitution, Putin took the oath of office at his inauguration on Tuesday in the golden imperial splendor of the Kremlin’s St. Andrew’s Hall.
Putin told Russia’s political elite after being sworn in that he was not shutting down dialogue with the West. But it would have to make its own choice about how to engage with his country.
“We are a united and great people. Together we will overcome all obstacles, we will bring all our plans to fruition, and together we will win,” President Putin told an audience of ministers and dignitaries.
President Putin pledged to “preserve and develop democracy” and to “take care of Russia.”
Putin, in power as president or prime minister since 1999. He begins his new mandate more than two years after he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, where Russian forces have regained the initiative after a series of reversals and are seeking to advance further in the east.
Vladimir Putin dominates the domestic political landscape amid accusations of using Ukraine as a vehicle to try to defeat and dismember Russia.
