Putin to accept diplomatic credentials from 21 new ambassadors

President Vladimir Putin will accept letters of credence from 21 foreign ambassadors to the Russian Federation at the Kremlin today.

A letter of credence is a formal request for a country to accept a diplomatic envoy. The ambassadors Putin will recognize today span from a wide range of non-Western countries including Mali, Pakistan, Algeria, and the Dominican Republic but also Western ones including the UK, Sweden, and Australia. Today’s ceremony comes at a time when Russia faces sanctions and diplomatic isolation over its nearly two-year war against Ukraine.

Although recognizing ambassadors is a common formality, expect Moscow to tout the event as proof that Russia is in a diplomatic position of strength despite the unpopularity of its war. With global diplomatic attention to Ukraine diverted by the Israel-Hamas conflict, anticipate Moscow using the distraction to improve its relations with countries more neutral toward the conflict, particularly those in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Improving diplomatic relations with “neutral” countries will assist Moscow’s efforts to divest Kyiv of support as doing so helps frame the conflict not as Russian aggression but as a nuanced dispute over land. Successfully reframing the conflict will in the medium to long-term assist Moscow’s efforts to affect a diplomatic settlement resulting in the annexation of Ukrainian land.