Putin sworn in for fourth term as Russian president
POOL/AFP / Alexander ZemlianichenkoRussian president Vladimir Putin has been in power since 1999
Vladimir Putin was sworn in as Russia's president for a fourth term on Monday, extending his almost two-decade rule by another six years at a time of high tension with his Western rivals.
The 65-year-old, in power since 1999, is on course to become the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin after his victory in March elections.
Putin won nearly 77 percent of the vote in polls in which his most vocal opponent, Alexei Navalny, was banned from running.
He has promised to use his fourth term to revitalise the economy. But he also faces a host of thorny international disputes.
"I consider it my duty and my life's aim to do everything possible for Russia, for its present and for its future," Putin said at Monday's swearing-in ceremony, with his hand on the Russian constitution.
US President Donald Trump congratulated the Kremlin strongman, with White House press secretary Sarah Sanders telling reporters in Washington that Trump "looks forward to a time when we can hopefully have a good relationship with Russia.
"However, the United States believes that everyone has a right to be heard and assemble peacefully," she said.
SPUTNIK/AFP / Alexey NIKOLSKYPutin said he was conscious of the 'colossal responsibility' of leading Russia
Several thousand guests lined the red carpet in Moscow and filmed Putin on their smartphones as he arrived for the ceremony in the ornate Andreyev Hall, part of the Kremlin palace complex.
Among them were US action star Steven Seagal, who has taken Russian citizenship, as well as former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Naina Yeltsina, the widow of Putin's late predecessor Boris Yeltsin.
Putin was driven to the inauguration in a black Russian-made limousine -- a change from previous ceremonies when he used a German Mercedes.
"I feel strongly conscious of my colossal responsibility," he said, thanking Russians for their "sincere support" and "cohesiveness".
"We have revived pride in our fatherland," Putin said. "As head of state I will do all I can to multiply the strength, prosperity and fame of Russia."
Shortly after the ceremony, Putin asked parliament to back a new mandate for outgoing prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, his longtime ally.
- Crackdown on opposition -
AFP/File / Maxim ZMEYEVThe European Union accused Russian police of brutality and mass arrests in cracking down on anti-Putin protests
Navalny on Monday reposted a 2017 video into the prime minister's alleged wealth that led to nationwide protests last year.
On Saturday, nearly 1,600 protesters including Navalny were detained during nationwide rallies against Putin under the slogan "Not Our Tsar".
The opposition figure, who was barred from challenging Putin in the March election, has been released pending a court hearing.
The unrest revived memories of 2012, when authorities cracked down on rallies against Putin's return to the Kremlin after a stint as prime minister.
- Strained ties with West -
Russia's ties with the West have been strained by Putin's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and his military campaign in Syria in support of longtime Russian ally President Bashar al-Assad.
In recent months relations have soured further over accusations of the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain and of election meddling in the United States.
"For Putin any concession is a sign of weakness, so there shouldn't be any expectation of a change in foreign policy," said Konstantin Kalachev, the head of the Political Expert Group think tank in Moscow.
AFP / Vincent LEFAIVladimir Putin's last term was marked by his interventions in Ukraine and Syria
The constitution bars Putin from running again when his fourth term ends in 2024. But he has remained silent on the issue of his succession.
- Economic woes -
Putin has promised to use his fourth term to improve Russians' standard of living.
"People will live better," he said.
Hours after the inauguration ceremony, Putin issued a decree setting targets for his next six years in power. These included halving Russia's poverty rate, increasing pensions and boosting the average life expectancy to 78 by 2024.
A new poll by Russia's independent Levada Center found that while the majority of Russians support Putin's foreign policy, the main complaints are over the economy.
The survey showed 45 percent of Russians believe Putin has been unable to achieve a "fair distribution" of state revenues to benefit ordinary people.
Russian businesses are expecting wide-ranging reforms to the government's heavily bureaucratised system.
According to statistics published in the RBC newspaper on Monday, the number of bureaucrats during Putin's third term rose by 50 percent, from 1.57 million to 2.17 million.
Putin has struggled to revive an economy that was hit hard by the Western sanctions over Crimea and a fall in global oil prices.
Trump set to announce Iran sanctions move that may kill nuclear deal
AFP/File / YURI GRIPASUS President Donald Trump will unveil his decision on Iran on Tuesday
President Donald Trump will confirm on Tuesday whether he will make good on a threat to re-impose US sanctions on Tehran and thereby throw the entire Iran nuclear deal into question.
Trump's announcement that a decision was imminent cut short a last-ditch European diplomatic drive to save the accord ahead of what had been a May 12 deadline.
Trump had until Saturday to decide whether to renew a waiver on one package of US sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector that had been lifted as part of Washington's commitment under the 2015 deal.
"I will be announcing my decision on the Iran Deal tomorrow from the White House at 2:00 pm (1800 GMT)," the president said in a tweet.
The president may now also decide to announce the fate of the rest of Washington's nuclear-related sanctions, which are covered by different waivers, and effectively undermine the entire accord, reached between Tehran and six world powers.
European leaders and diplomats -- including Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who was in Washington on Monday -- have been pleading with the United States to retain the core of what Trump called the "flawed" accord.
- Mixed signals -
And even if, as now seems inevitable, Trump pulls Washington out of the agreement, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China may decide to stay in and to urge Tehran to maintain its own commitments.
But if Trump's decision raises the prospect of renewed US sanctions on European firms and banks doing business with Iran, the accord itself will be in peril -- amid mixed signals from Tehran.
Some Iranian leaders have signalled they might seek to rapidly restore the enrichment capabilities they surrendered under the deal, and European capitals fear Tehran may resume the hunt for a bomb.
Tehran has long insisted it has no ambition to build nuclear weapons, but the signatories to the deal never believed them, and supporters of the accord have warned of a Middle East arms race if it fails.
And they are skeptical that Trump's administration has a back-up plan to restrain Iranian ambitions once he has made good on his campaign promise to tear up a deal endorsed by his predecessor Barack Obama.
AFP / JIM WATSONBritish Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's visit to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) is part of a last ditch European diplomatic push to save the Iran nuclear deal
Britain's Johnson, who was in Washington to lobby Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence, told Fox News: "Plan B does not seem to be, to me, particularly well-developed at this stage."
Given the multinational nature of the deal, nothing the so-called EU three -- Britain, France and Germany -- can do would allow them to rewrite it, but they have promised to work on a powerful supplemental agreement.
US diplomats have been working furiously with their partners in the three countries to make this a reality, with measures to limit Iran's ballistic missile program and regional subversion.
But so far, all signs point to Trump making good on his threat.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned the accord's collapse could spark "an escalation" in the region and stressed that Washington's European allies think the deal "makes the world a safer place."
His French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, on a visit to Berlin, said the agreement is "the right way to stop Iran from getting access to nuclear weapons" and "will save us from nuclear proliferation."
- Sunset clauses -
Under the landmark nuclear pact, Iran agreed to scale back nuclear enrichment and put its program under international supervision in return for international sanctions relief.
Trump has consistently complained about the agreement, reached under Obama, citing as its shortcomings certain clauses such as the "sunset" provisions lifting some nuclear restrictions on Tehran from 2025.
In an attempt to salvage the deal, French President Emmanuel Macron has pushed to extend its scope to address this issue, as well as Iran's missile capabilities and its role in the region.
Iranian Presidency/AFP /Britain, France and Germany urge Washington to stick with the Iran nuclear accord after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that Washington would regret ditching the pact "like never before"
Iran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in Syria's civil war and Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen have added to tension between Tehran and Western powers.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday issued a strong warning to the United States not to quit the pact.
"If the United States leaves the nuclear agreement, you will soon see that they will regret it like never before in history," Rouhani said.
He also vehemently reiterated his country's opposition to curtailing its non-nuclear missile capabilities, insisting Tehran "will build as many missiles and weapons as needed."
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