France will send an ambassador to Putinʼs so-called inauguration on May 7, unlike Germany, which said it would not.
Reuters writes about this with reference to sources.
Parisʼ decision could signal a potential rift between France and other countries, including Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which are staunchly opposed to giving Putin any form of legitimacy following Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Germany announced that it would not send its representative to Putinʼs "inauguration", and the Baltic states, which no longer have representatives in Moscow, also categorically ruled out the possibility of participating in the "inauguration".
Western governments condemned Putinʼs "re-election" as unfair and undemocratic. France also condemned the repression under which the pseudo-elections were held, which deprived Russians of a real choice, as well as the organization of pseudo-elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories.
"Inauguration" of Putin
The so-called inauguration of Putin will be held on May 7. Some European countries have announced that their representatives will not be at the ceremony. In particular, such statements have already been made by Germany, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. In addition, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan will not attend the ceremony.
European Union spokesman Peter Stano said during the briefing that European countries received an invitation from Russia to take part in Putinʼs "inauguration" ceremony, but now they are considering what the joint response to this invitation from the entire EU could be. Moreover, according to Stano, the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell, opposes the EU participating in Putinʼs "inauguration".
- On April 17, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported a resolution calling Vladimir Putin the illegitimate president of the Russian Federation. The document emphasized that under the rule of Putin, Russia has effectively become a dictatorship, and his regime adheres to the neo-imperialist ideology of "Russian peace", which the Kremlin has turned into a tool for inciting war.
- On May 6 , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine announced the non-recognition of Putin as the legitimate president of Russia.