According to a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Portuguese Government was not represented at the official ceremony, which took place this morning at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow. On Monday, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, appealed to the Member States not to send diplomatic representatives to the inauguration. "I swear (...) to respect and protect human and civil rights and freedoms, to respect and protect the Constitution, sovereignty, independence, security and integrity of the government", declared Putin, quoted by the French agency AFP. Putin said that leading Russia "is a sacred duty" and promised that the country would emerge "stronger" from the "difficult period" it is going through. Russia is at war with Ukraine, which it invaded in 2022, and is the target of international sanctions because of the offensive against the neighbouring country. In the Russian presidential elections, which took place between 15 and 17 March, Putin obtained more than 76.2 million votes (87.28%) in the vote on Russian territory. Several Western governments have aligned themselves with the criticism of the democratic legitimacy of the presidential elections in Russia and have not congratulated Putin, as was the case with the United States. The new mandate is expected to last for another six years, which means that Putin will be the President of Russia until at least 2030. Although he has publicly guaranteed that he would not do so, Putin changed the Constitution in 2020 to allow his re-election, which he may do again in six years' time and thus remain in the Kremlin until 2036. Putin, who has been in power since 2000, also held the post of Prime Minister between 2008 and 2012. Read Also: UN demands that Russia "immediately stop" attacks on journalists (Portuguese version)