Speaking to reporters on Friday after attending a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan, Putin said the “liberation” of Ukraine’s entire eastern Donbass region remains Russia’s main military goal and he sees no need to revise. “We are in no rush,” the Russian leader said, adding that Russia has only deployed volunteer soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Russia was forced to withdraw its forces from large areas of northeastern Ukraine last week after a swift Ukrainian counteroffensive. Ukraine’s move to regain control of several Russian-held towns and villages marked the biggest military setback for Moscow since its forces were forced to retreat from areas near the capital at the start of the war. Asked about the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Putin replied: “Let’s see how it develops and how it ends.” He claimed that Ukraine tried to launch attacks “close to our nuclear facilities, the nuclear factories” in Russia and promised to do “everything to prevent any negative development of events”. “We will retaliate if they do not understand that such methods are unacceptable, they are no different from terrorism,” Putin said. Putin also sought on Friday to allay India’s concern over the conflict in Ukraine, telling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Moscow wants to see a quick end to the fighting and asserting that Ukrainian officials will not negotiate. “I know your stance on the conflict in Ukraine and the concerns you have repeatedly expressed,” the Russian leader told Modi. “We will do everything we can to get this over with as soon as possible. “Unfortunately, the other side, the leadership of Ukraine, rejected the negotiation process and declared that they want to achieve their goals by military means, on the battlefield.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia reportedly does not want to negotiate seriously. He also insisted on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territories of Ukraine as a condition for talks. Putin’s remarks during the talks with Modi echoed similar comments he made during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping the previous day. China and India have refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, while increasing purchases of Russian oil and gas, helping Moscow offset economic restrictions imposed by the US and its allies. Putin also met on Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss strengthening economic cooperation and regional issues, including a July deal brokered by Turkey and the UN that allowed Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports to resume Sea. Speaking at the Uzbekistan summit on Friday, Xi warned his Central Asian neighbors not to allow outsiders to destabilize them. The warning reflects Beijing’s concern that Western support for democracy advocates and human rights activists is a plot to undermine Xi’s ruling Communist Party and other authoritarian governments. “We must prevent outside forces from instigating a color revolution,” Xi said in a speech to leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, referring to protests that have toppled unpopular regimes in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. Xi offered to train 2,000 police officers, set up a regional counter-terrorism training center and “strengthen law enforcement capacity building”. He did not give details. His comments echoed long-standing Russian complaints about color uprisings in many former Soviet nations that the Kremlin saw as fueled by the US and its allies. Xi is promoting a “Global Security Initiative” announced in April after the US, Japan, Australia and India formed the Quad in response to Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy. Xi gave few details, but US officials protest that he echoes Russian arguments in support of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. China’s relations with Washington, Europe, Japan and India have been strained by disputes over technology, security, human rights and territory. Central Asia is part of China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative to expand trade by building ports, railways and other infrastructure across an arc of dozens of countries from the South Pacific to Asia to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was created by Russia and China as a counterweight to US influence. The group also includes India, Pakistan and four former Soviet states of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran is well on its way to full membership. On Thursday, Putin held a one-on-one meeting with Xi and thanked the Chinese leader for his government’s “balanced position” on the Ukraine war, while adding that he was ready to discuss China’s unspecified “concerns” about Ukraine . Xi, in a statement released by his government, expressed support for Russia’s “core interests” but also an interest in working together to “bring stability” to global affairs. Li Xin, director of the Institute of European and Asian Studies at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, noted that Beijing wants a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine, adding that “China will not judge whether Russia’s special military operation is fair or not.”
