Ukraine war: Defiant Putin says invasion will strengthen Russia, hails ‘growing role’ of Asia-Pacific in global affairs

Vladimir Putin speaks at Russia economic forum, over six months after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine
The Russian leader sought to pivot towards allies in Asia, as his country faces a barrage of Western sanctions

Russia

Agencies

Published: 4:53pm, 7 Sep 2022

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President Vladimir Putin said Russia will emerge stronger from his invasion of Ukraine as he lashed out at US and European “sanctions fever” in response to the war.

“I’m sure that we’ve lost nothing and won’t lose anything,” Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Wednesday, after he was asked about the conflict in Ukraine by the panel’s moderator following a speech in which he didn’t directly mention the war once. “The main thing we’ll gain is strengthening our sovereignty.”

The US and its allies estimate that tens of thousands of Russian troops have been killed or wounded and huge amounts of military equipment destroyed since Putin ordered the February 24 invasion and triggered the worst security crisis in Europe since World War II. Russia has also faced a barrage of US and European sanctions that are pushing its economy toward recession amid a stampede by international companies to exit the country and a ban on imports of Western technology.

The US and its allies have also provided Ukraine with billions of dollars of financial and military aid, including a flow of advanced weapons that has enabled Ukrainian forces to push back against the Russian aggression.

Europe ‘losing’ narrative battle to Russia-China anti-Western message

“The epidemic has been replaced by other challenges, also of a global nature, threatening the whole world,” Putin said, in reference to the economic impact of Covid-19. “I mean the sanctions fever of the West, its aggressive attempts to impose a model of behaviour on other countries, deprive them of their sovereignty and subordinate them to their will.”

The Russian leader, who was seated at the plenary session beside Myanmar’s junta head Min Aung Hlaing, who’s sanctioned by the US for alleged human rights violations, insisted it was “impossible” to isolate Russia, while adding “We understand the risks and need to keep them in focus.”

China’s top legislator, Li Zhanshu, and the prime ministers of Mongolia and Armenia also joined Putin at the annual forum that has intended to showcase investment opportunities in Russia’s far east. The leaders of India, Malaysia and Vietnam agreed to speak by video address, Putin said.

The US imposed sanctions on Myanmar’s military leaders after they took power in a coup in February 2021. Min Aung Hlaing had been sanctioned two years earlier for alleged human rights abuses by forces he commanded.

Putin lashed out at the international sanctions a day after it emerged that a confidential internal report prepared for the Russian government showed the country may face a longer and deeper recession as the impact of US and European penalties spreads. The document paints a far more dire picture than Russian officials usually do in their upbeat public comments.

Russia is weathering the “economic, financial and technological aggressions” of the West well, Putin assured attendees at the forum.

Western countries are suffering more due to the sanctions they have laid on Russia – implemented to protest its ongoing invasion of Ukraine – than Russia has, insisted Putin.

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Putin tells pupils why Russian troops are in Ukraine in a speech to open school year

Putin hails ‘growing role’ of Asia-Pacific in global affairs

In an attempt to underscore Russia’s tilt towards Asia, Putin, said that the West was failing while Asia was the future.

Putin hailed the growing role of the Asia-Pacific region in global affairs, as Moscow seeks to strengthen partnerships in Asia in the face of Western sanctions.

“The role … of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region has significantly increased,” Putin said, adding that partnerships will create “colossal new opportunities for our people”.

Putin says Russia has ‘no problems’ selling energy resources

Putin also said that Russia would have no problems selling its vast energy resources around the world, despite Western sanctions designed to cut off the Kremlin’s vital energy revenues.

During the economic forum in Vladivostok he blasted Europe’s idea for a price cap on Russian gas as “stupid,” said it would lead to price rises and that global demand for Russian energy was high.

Putin also said Russia had agreed all the key parameters to sell gas to China via Mongolia.