Putin starts new term as Russia's President with challenge to West

Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was up to the West to choose between confrontation and cooperation as he was sworn in for a new six-year term on May 7 at a Kremlin ceremony that was boycotted by the US and many of its allies.

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More than two years into the war in Ukraine, Mr Putin said he wanted to "bow" before Russia's soldiers there and declared in his inauguration speech that his landslide re-election in March was proof the country was united and on the right track.

"You, citizens of Russia, have confirmed the correctness of the country's course. This is of great importance right now, when we are faced with serious challenges," he told dignitaries in a gilded Kremlin hall where a trumpet fanfare sounded to greet his arrival.

"I see in this a deep understanding of our common historical goals, a determination to adamantly defend our choice, our values, freedom and the national interests of Russia." At 71, Mr Putin dominates the domestic political landscape.

Leading opposition figures are in prison or exile, and his best known critic, Alexei Navalny, died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony in February.

On the international stage, Mr Putin is locked in a confrontation with Western countries he accuses of using Ukraine as a vehicle to try to defeat and dismember Russia.