West reacts warily to Putin victory

the election after 99,30 percent of the ballots were counted early yesterday.
Putin led the election with 63,75 percent of the votes, while Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov pocketed 17,19 percent.
Independent candidate Mikhail Prokhorov came in third with 7,82 percent.
About 6,23 percent of the votes went to Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and 3,85 percent to A Just Russia leader Sergei Mironov.
Churov said the error between the preliminary result and the final one would be no more than 0,1 percent.
He added that the turnout in the election was 65,3 percent. The figure was slightly lower from the 69,7 percent in 2008, but higher than the 64,3 percent in 2004.
Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday congratulated Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on his election to the country’s presidency.
In his congratulatory message, President Hu said the Russians have made tremendous progress in promoting national stability and development in the new century, adding that he believed they would make even more promising achievements in the great cause of building a strong and prosperous Russia.
China and Russia are friendly neighbours and enjoy a comprehensive strategic partnership of co-operation, Hu said.
He also said consolidating the China-Russia friendship, expanding co-operation for mutual benefit, and deepening strategic co-ordination are vital to promoting their common development and revival, and preserve regional and world peace and stability.
China would like to join Russia in implementing the 10-year blueprint for the development of bilateral ties, as well as other co-operation agreements so as to further promote their strategic partnership to even higher levels, he said. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez welcomed Putin’s victory, vowing to deepen “strategic” ties between the two countries.
A statement issued by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said Chavez personally congratulated Prime Minister Putin, calling him “a driving force behind strategic ties of co-operation between Venezuela and Russia.”
Chavez underscored “strong ties of friendship” between him and the Russian leader.
“Wishing President Putin and his team all the best, the Venezuelan government reaffirms its strong commitment to deepening strategic relations between the two countries,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Western powers greeted Putin’s presidential election victory warily yesterday, refusing to follow their Asian counterparts in offering congratulations to the Russian strongman.
The European Union’s chief diplomat Catherine Ashton said the bloc merely “took note” of the outcome of Sunday’s vote while there were assurances from the EU’s most powerful members that they wanted to work with Moscow. Syria meanwhile hailed what it called a “remarkable” victory by Putin in gratitude for Russia’s refusal to join the chorus of criticism of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on the opposition.
The European response were shaped by a report from international observers, led by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which said the campaign was skewed in favour of Putin and the ballot marred by irregularities.
“The EU takes note of the preliminary results” from Sunday’s presidential poll, Ashton’s spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told a news briefing.
“Overall we share their (the observers’) assessment,” she said. “We are encouraging Russia to address these shortcomings.”
Asked why the European Commission had yet to congratulate Putin on his victory, a spokeswoman for the EU executive said it was waiting for a fuller report on the outcome of the vote, adding: “First things first.”
David Cameron’s spokesman said the British prime minister would call Putin later on yesterday but without specifying whether he would offer congratulations.
“It is clear that the election has delivered a decisive result,” the spokesman said.
However, the spokesman noted that observers had identified problems including “unequal campaign conditions” leading up to the election, adding, “We would like to see these issues addressed over time.”
The spokesman said Britain wants a “constructive relationship with Russia” after years of tense ties, echoing a message from Berlin.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said his government would like to co-operate with Putin “constructively and in a trusting way.” Russia is and remains a centrally important partner for Germany and Europe. We therefore want to continue and deepen the strategic partnership with Russia,” he added in a statement. — Xinhua/AFP.