MOSCOW

Russia’s ruling party unanimously backed Vladimir Putin's candidacy for the March 2024 presidential election at its congress on Sunday.

The United Russia party held its 21st Congress in Moscow.

In his speech at the event, Putin said the party has been working for the interests of Russian citizens and the development and strengthening of the state for many years.

"Today, everyone has a great responsibility. We are faced with historical tasks. These require the unity of all nationalist forces," he said.

Noting that Western countries are pursuing aggressive policies against Russia, Putin said “the Western elite wanted to destroy Russia’s economy and social sphere. Moreover, they wanted to destroy our political system. They thought and think that they will be able to create confusion in Russia.”

“The methods of such destabilization are well known, and Western elites in many regions of the world have used them more than once during the so-called color revolutions. But these scenarios did not work, and I am convinced that they will never work in Russia -- a free, independent and sovereign state. Our society, all branches of power and levels of government have proven their maturity, reliability and stability,” he added.

The country's Federation Council decided at the beginning of the month to hold the presidential election on March 15-17.

Putin announced that he would be a candidate and sent a notification to the Central Election Commission.

Running as an independent candidate, he will be supported in his election campaign by the United Russia party in the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.

Russia’s last presidential election was held on March 18, 2018, and Putin was elected president with 76.69% of the vote.