Russian incumbent President Vladimir Putin was sworn in Friday for a second term in an official ceremony in the Kremlin.  

Putin was reelected in the March 14 presidential elections with 71.31 percent of the vote.

The inauguration ceremony was broadcast live by the country's two major state-run television channels and in the Internet -- in the Kremlin official site.

With his right hand on a red-bound copy of the Constitution, Putin vowed "to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, to abide by and protect the Constitution of the Russian Federation, to protect the sovereignty and independence, security and integrity of the state and to serve the people faithfully."

In his brief speech following taking the oath, Putin thanked the Russians for giving him "high trust and honor" in the elections.

He promised to work "actively, openly and honestly" as he did in the previous years in order to justify the hopes of the people.

Some 1,700 guests, including members of both houses of parliament, government officials, cultural figures and foreign ambassadors, attended the ceremony.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2004)