Putin goes on his first trip abroad since the beginning of the war - and even meets critics
Created: 06/28/2022, 11:52 am
By: Florian Naumann
Vladimir Putin studies papers - here before meeting Alexander Lukashenko in Russia on Saturday.
© IMAGO/Maksim Blinov
Vladimir Putin is leaving Russia for the first time since invading Ukraine.
Exciting: Putin will probably also meet critics on the trip to Central Asia.
Moscow/Dushanbe – Vladimir Putin is leaving Russia on Tuesday (June 28) for the first time since the start of the Ukraine war he instigated.
The Kremlin chief visits Central Asian Tajikistan.
His last trip abroad had taken him to China in early February - at that time there was a demonstrative solidarity with the Chinese head of state Xi Jinping.
It remains to be seen whether the Russian President will be welcomed with open arms this time: a summit meeting with the countries bordering the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan is also on the agenda for Wednesday.
Criticism could also be raised there – albeit in a rather cautious tone.
Vladimir Putin travels to Central Asia in the Ukraine war - interlocutors on Wednesday could criticize
The participants in the round in Turkmenistan, in addition to the host country, are Iran, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
While Iran is one of Moscow's loyal supporters, there has recently been criticism from Kazakhstan.
The country does not want to recognize the self-proclaimed "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk.
At the same time, the government criticized media loyal to Putin for their reporting on Kazakhstan, as reported by the portal
The Moscow Times
, among others.
However, the country under authoritarian ruler Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is attempting a balancing act between Russia and the West.
As recently as January, Russia sent military aid to quell mass protests in Kazakhstan.
In mid-June, however, Tokayev then emphasized the right to territorial integrity.
That's why they don't recognize Taiwan, Kosovo, Abkhazia or South Ossetia.
"And this principle obviously also applies to quasi-state areas like Donetsk and Luhansk."
There is also potential for conflict with Azerbaijan.
The country also did not recognize Donetsk and Luhansk - and has strong ties with Ukraine.
According to the United State Institute for Peace, the reason for this is, among other things, that Ukraine supported Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
However, open confrontation is not to be expected.
Azerbaijan abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution against the Ukraine war, as the website
Geopolitical Monitor
points out in an analysis.
Putin most recently stayed in Russia – hardly ever traveled during the Ukraine war and Corona
Since the outbreak of the corona pandemic, Putin had generally made himself rare on the international stage.
Between February 2020 and February 2022 he only traveled abroad three times.
He met US President Joe Biden in Geneva in June 2021 and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in December 2021.
This reluctance has recently fueled – unconfirmed – rumors about Putin's state of health.
Putin had repeatedly met the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, but always in Russia.
Similar to these meetings, however, it could now also be a matter of underscoring Russia's supremacy in the former Soviet area.
However, there will hardly have been any critical words from Lukashenko.
It remains to be seen whether the Central Asia trip will destroy the "information vacuum" in the Kremlin diagnosed by the West.
(
fn/dpa
)
