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Putin to make first foreign trip to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan since Ukraine war
Russian state television reported on Sunday (June 26) that President Vladimir Putin will visit two small former Soviet states in central Asia this week, in what would be the Russian leader’s first known trip abroad since ordering the invasion of Ukraine.
Pavel Zarubin, the Kremlin correspondent of the Rossiya 1 state television station, said Putin would visit Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and then meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo for talks in Moscow.
Zarubin said that in Dushanbe, Putin will meet Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon, a close Russian ally and the longest-serving ruler of a former Soviet state. In Ashgabat, he will attend a summit of Caspian nations including the leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.
Putin’s last known trip outside Russia was a visit to the Beijing in early February, where he and Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled a “no limits” friendship treaty hours before both attended the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games, The Alarabiya English reported, citing Reuters.
Vladimir Putin accuses Western countries of destabilising global agricultural production
Russia says it sent troops into Ukraine on February 24 to degrade its neighbor’s military capabilities, keep it from being used by the West to threaten Russia, root out nationalists and defend Russian-speakers in eastern regions. Ukraine calls the invasion an imperial-style land grab.
It should be noted that Russia’s February 24 invasion has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more and led to severe financial sanctions from the West, which Putin says are a reason to build stronger trade ties with other powers such as China, India, and Iran.
Source: alarabiyaenglish
