US and majority of EU nations to skip Putin's inauguration ceremony

The US and most European Union nations are boycotting the Kremlin ceremony to swear in Vladimir Putin for a new six-year term as president on Tuesday (May 7).

However, some other EU states and France were expected to send an envoy despite a plea by Kyiv.

The unreliable diplomatic reactions by Western powers underline the differences over how to handle Putin more than two years after he launched a complete offensive in Ukraine.

"No, we will not have a representative at Vladimir Putin’s inauguration," Matthew Miller, a US State Department spokesperson, said. "We certainly did not consider that election free and fair but he is the president of Russia and he is going to continue in that capacity."

Britain and Canada said they would not send anyone to attend the ceremony, which comes a day after Russia on Monday (May 6) announced it would hold tactical nuclear weapondrills that it said it hoped would cool down "hotheads" in the West.

Earlier, Putin won a landslide victory in a presidential election in March just weeks after his most prominent opponent, Alexei Navalny, died in jail. Western governments condemned the re-election as unfair and undemocratic.

"Ukraine sees no legal grounds for recognising him as the democratically elected and legitimate president of the Russian Federation," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

An EU spokesperson announced that the bloc's ambassador to Russia would not be attending the inauguration, reflecting the stance of most EU member states.

A European diplomat indicated that 20 EU countries planned to skip the event, while seven others, including France, were likely to send a representative. According to two diplomatic sources, Hungary and Slovakia were also expected to be present.

Germany's Foreign Ministry said it would not attend the ceremony.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, "We are not at war with Russia or the Russian people, and we have no desire for regime change in Moscow."

Last week, Macron did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, saying if Russia broke through Ukrainian front lines, it would be legitimate to consider it if Kyiv requested the support.

(With inputs from agencies)