Criticism of Putin by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Russian leader’s acknowledgment of concerns expressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping last week were signs of discomfort with Moscow, three Western officials said. The remarks, at a summit in Uzbekistan, came days after the Ukrainian offensive forced the Russian military to surrender more than 3,000 square kilometers of territory. The comments were “a genuine and clear signal” of discomfort, a senior European official said, adding that India and China could now adjust their actions towards both Russia and the West. A senior European minister told the Financial Times they interpreted the comments as “genuine criticism”. “Especially from Modi. I don’t think he likes that,” the minister added. “It was much better to be in a position of ambiguity where you could be friendly with both sides. And benefit from being friends with both of them.” Modi told Putin that “the present age is not an age of war”. The Russian leader told his counterpart: “We will do everything we can to stop this as soon as possible,” citing “concerns that you constantly express.” This came after Putin also acknowledged Xi’s “concerns” about the war in public remarks at the event. The exchanges at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization gathering in Samarkand mark the biggest public acknowledgment of concern over the war in Ukraine by the two largest economies not to impose sanctions on Moscow. The comments underscored that Putin is “further isolating himself from the international community,” John Kirby, the top spokesman for the US National Security Council, said on Friday. “Even countries that haven’t been loud and hard in their opposition to him are starting to question what he’s doing in Ukraine.” China and India’s apparent concern is a potential obstacle to Putin’s goal of deepening ties with non-Western countries. A week before the meeting in Samarkand, Putin gave a speech in Vladivostok where he said countries like China were able to make up for Russia’s lost trade with Europe. “Beyond changing partners or orientation. It envisages rival political and economic blocs,” said a Western diplomat in Moscow. Although China has benefited from a discount to increase its purchases of Russian goods, the risk of secondary US sanctions means its companies have been wary of filling the gap left by sanctions in Russia’s defense and technology sectors. “They expected more from China,” said another Western diplomat in Moscow. “Chinese companies have either been told not to be active or need high-level permission to do so.” The Kremlin said Russia’s relationship with China remains strong. In comments broadcast on Sunday, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television that Moscow and Beijing have “absolute kinship in our approach to any kind of provocative actions coming from the United States and the unacceptability of such destructive behavior ». Peskov acknowledged that possible secondary Western sanctions to deepen China’s trade relationship with Russia were “complicating factors” that had a “negative effect,” but said they were “not able to have a significant effect because the general trend it is still very much towards development”. Analysts pointed out that while the message may have been clear, neither Xi nor Modi directly addressed Ukraine or expressed support for Kyiv. Both have increased their purchases of Russian energy exports and continued to trade with Moscow since the full-scale invasion began nearly seven months ago. “Modi’s statement achieved what he wanted to achieve: send a message to the West that he is not on Putin’s side,” said Sushant Singh, a senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi. Singh noted that Modi’s remarks did not raise any “point of contention” over Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity, but focused on issues related to the impact of the war on areas such as food security, fuel and fertilizer supplies. But Western officials saw Modi and Xi’s concerns as a challenge to Putin’s narrative that Western sanctions on Russia were to blame for the economic fallout from the war. Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, wrote in an article published Sunday in the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche that Ukraine’s recent battlefield victories exposed the weakness and lack of motivation of Russian troops. These events “show that even if Ukraine has not yet won the war, Russia is undoubtedly losing it,” he wrote. Although Borrell warned that the war is far from over, he said it is time to start thinking about a peace process. Additional reporting by Leila Abboud in Paris and Felicia Schwartz in Washington
