Russia election: Putin ready for ‘constructive’ dialogue

Vladimir Putin has said he is open to “constructive” dialogue with other states after being re-elected president of Russia with an increased majority.

“But of course that doesn’t depend on us alone,” he added. “Just as in love, both sides must show an interest or there will be no love.”

Saying there would be no “arms race”, he promised to cut defence spending.

Mr Putin officially won more than 76% of the vote in an election from which the main opposition leader was barred.

He was warmly congratulated by Chinese President Xi Jinping while Western leaders were more guarded in their reaction.

French President Emmanuel Macron wished him “success for the political, democratic, economic and social modernisation” of Russia but, in a phone call to Mr Putin, pointedly asked the Russian authorities to “shed all possible light on who was responsible in relation to the Salisbury attacks”.

The UK government has blamed Russia for the poisoning in Salisbury of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia – an allegation Russia rejects.

Was Sunday’s election free and fair?

Mr Putin has ruled Russia as either president or prime minister since 1999 but his share of the vote in the last election 2012 was smaller, at 64%.

The main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was not allowed to stand because of an embezzlement conviction that he said had been manufactured by the Kremlin.

Mr Putin’s nearest rival, the Communist Party’s Pavel Grudinin, won just under 12%.

European observers said that while the poll had been conducted efficiently, there was a lack of genuine choice.

Video recordings from polling stations showed irregularities in a number of towns and cities across Russia. Several showed election officials stuffing boxes with ballot papers.

The independent election monitoring group Golos reported hundreds of irregularities.

At least one polling station video camera was obscured.

However, Ella Pamfilova, head of the Central Electoral Commission, said there were only half as many reported violations compared to 2012, and that none had been serious.

Sunday’s vote was also the first in Crimea since Russia seized the region from Ukraine after an unrecognised referendum on self-determination.

According to the constitution Mr Putin is required to step down in 2024, but he could change the rules to eliminate term limits. After his win he laughed off a question from a journalist about standing in 2030.

How does the international community see it?

Mr Xi said relations between China and Russia were at their “best level in history”.

The leaders of Iran, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba were among others who sent their best wishes.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier congratulated Mr Putin in his re-election and said he hoped he would use his new term in office to “counter alienation on our continent and between the peoples of Russia and Germany”.

However, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was more critical, condemning the holding of the Russian election in Crimea and saying: “We assume that Russia will remain a difficult partner.”

How do the European press see the election?

Germany’s Bild tabloid asks “Has the poison thriller helped Putin?”, BBC Monitoring reports.

The tabloid quotes Mr Putin’s campaign spokesperson thanking Britain for “unjustly accusing Russia” and putting pressure on Moscow “at the right time” which led to a surge of Russian voters “gathering around the centre of power – and that is Putin”.

French business daily Les Echos says Mr Putin was “re-elected in a Cold War climate”. The paper adds: “Vladimir Putin has won the bet that was impossible to lose: to be re-elected amid a full-scale crisis with the West.”

Poland’s conservative Rzeczpospolita says Mr Putin’s re-election means a “further policy of confrontation with the West”. One expert tells the paper: “Russia has depleted its means of development, meaning that now Russia will only rely on force and expansion”.

BBC