Locked in a standoff with the West over war, Putin has repeatedly said Russia is not isolated because it can look east to major Asian powers like China and India. But at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), concerns spilled out into the open. “I know that today is not a time of war and I have spoken to you on the phone about that,” Modi told Putin in a televised meeting in the ancient Uzbek Silk Road city of Samarkand. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seen arriving at the summit in Samarkand on Friday. (Sergey Bobylev/Sputnik/Reuters) As Modi made the remark, Russia’s top leader since 1999 pursed his lips, glanced at Modi, then looked down before touching the hair at the back of his head.
Putin: Moscow aims to end conflict
Putin told Modi he understood the Indian leader had concerns about Ukraine, but that Moscow was doing everything it could to end the conflict. “I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, the concerns you constantly express,” Putin said. “We will do everything we can to stop this as soon as possible.” An abandoned Russian tank is seen sitting under the roof of a gas station on the outskirts of Izium, Ukraine, on Friday. (Juan Barretto/AFP/Getty Images) He said Ukraine rejected the negotiations. Ukraine has said it will fight until it expels all Russian troops from its land. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will never accept a “peace” that allows Russia to keep Ukrainian land. The war in Ukraine, sparked when Putin ordered troops to invade on February 24, has killed tens of thousands of soldiers, sparked the worst standoff with the West since the Cold War and sent the global economy into a deflationary spiral. India has become the No. 2 buyer of Russian oil after China, as others have reduced purchases after the invasion. Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that he understood Xi had concerns about the situation in Ukraine, but praised the Beijing leader for taking a “balanced” position on the conflict.
No public comment from Xi
Xi, on his first trip outside China since early 2020, did not publicly mention the war in Ukraine. The Chinese leader said the world has entered a new period of turmoil and that partners like Putin and Central Asian leaders should prevent foreign powers from inciting “color revolutions”. Chinese President Xi Jinping appears at the Uzbekistan summit on Friday. (Sergey Bobylev/Sputnik/Reuters) “The world has entered a new period of turbulent change, we must understand the trend of the times, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and promote the building of a closer community of destiny with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” Xi said. “We should support each other’s efforts to safeguard security and development interests, prevent external forces from making color revolutions, and jointly oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries under any pretext.” Xi criticized “zero-sum games and bloc politics,” a veiled reference to the United States, which Beijing has criticized in the past for relying on allies to counter China’s rise. Putin has repeatedly said the United States is planning so-called “color revolutions” similar to those that swept established elites from power in places like Ukraine. WATCHES | Putin meets Xi at summit:
Putin steps up support from China after losses in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in Uzbekistan in a bid to strengthen ties with his remaining allies after a stunning week of losses in Ukraine and amid growing discord in his country. The United States denies such claims and says they show the paranoia of Putin’s Russia. The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after the overthrow of a pro-Russian president in the Maidan revolution and Russia’s annexation of Crimea, with Russian-backed separatists fighting Ukraine’s armed forces. China’s Communist Party, which next month is likely to hand Xi a third leadership term and consolidate his position as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, has previously warned against so-called “color revolutions”. Xi stayed away from a dinner attended by 11 heads of state in line with his delegation’s policy on COVID-19, an Uzbekistani government source told Reuters on Friday.
