At the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine back in February, numerous countries traditionally close to Moscow either maintained their close ties with Russia or did not condemn the invasion right away.
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However, the war has been dragging on for seven months now with recent successful counteroffensives on behalf of Ukraine. Now, Russia’s allies like Kazakhstan, Belarus, India, China, and Turkey are voicing concerns publicly, and calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution.
A growing global coalition to restore Ukrainian sovereignty in all its territory
According to Newsweek,U.S. President Biden has had thus far a successful campaign of mustering support for Ukraine and creating a global coalition to counter Russia’s invasion.
The recent criticism directed towards the war in Ukraine indirectly also suggests that the world is not going to abide by Putin’s expansionist intentions for a greater Russia.
Ukraine and western powers reiterated that they would not accept any result of the sham referendums in the four breakout regions in the south and east of Ukraine that Russia is controlling.
Reuters reports that Russia’s close ally Kazakhstan is providing pushback to Putin. On Monday, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said that they would not recognize the potential Russian annexation of eastern Ukrainian regions through the referendums.
According to Newsweek, following Putin's mobilisation announcement, BelarusianPresident Lukashenko said his troops would not mobilize. The publication also reports on the stance of India and China at the UN,which haveexpressed publicly their concerns and called for the immediate restoration ofpeace.
In a recent interviewfor PBS, Turkey’s leader Erdogan said ‘the invasion cannot be justified,’ and ‘Russia should not be permitted to keep any of the Ukrainian territories it has captured.’
An isolated Russia at the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly
The Guardian reports that Moscow was increasingly isolated at the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly (GA). All major nations including Russian allies China and India fell short of supporting Russia and called for a negotiated end of the Ukraine war.
According to The Guardian, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, called upon Russia and Ukraine to ‘keep the crisis from spilling over’ and from affecting developing countries. He added, ‘the pressing priority is to facilitate talks for peace’.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, used his speech to claim that Russia is being decimated by the west, saying:
They are not shying away from declaring the intent to inflict not only military defeat on our country but also to destroy and fracture Russia.’ while also confirming that his country is increasingly being isolated, ‘the official Russophobia in the west is unprecedented. Now the scope is grotesque.
Later in a news conference, Lavrov cemented Russia's isolation and desperation by criticising the west for failure to engage with Russia, saying ‘we have never stepped away from maintaining contact’.
Meanwhile, the western countries vowed to up the ante on Russia by introducing new sanctions.
Sources used:
- Newsweek: ‘Putin's Allies Are Starting to Turn on Ukraine War’
- Reuters: 'Kazakhstan says it won't recognise referendums in eastern Ukraine'
- The Guardian: ‘Russia’s allies China and India call for negotiations to end Ukraine war’
- PBS: ‘Turkey President Erdoğan on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the future of NATO’
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