After Vladimir Putin’s landslide presidential election victory on Sunday, western governments lined up to characterise the win as unfair and undemocratic. The elections underlined the “depth of repression” in Russia, according to British foreign minister David Cameron, while the US state department said the jailing and disqualification of opponents meant the process was “incredibly undemocratic”. The comments from leaders across Europe and the US stood however in sharp contrast to messages of congratulation that flowed from countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America. These contrasting reactions underscore the geopolitical faultlines…
Tag: Vladimir Putin
Worlds apart: inside the 22 December Guardian Weekly
The Guardian Weekly magazine looks forward and back in our final edition of 2023, a year overshadowed by war and conflict. In a special essay, diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reflects on how a perception of US double standards over Ukraine and Gaza has damaged the west in the minds of the global south, and whether an international reckoning of sorts awaits Washington in 2024. “I wanted to illustrate chaos and destruction as testaments of war,” writes Israel G Vargas on his cover artwork for this week’s edition. “Two conflicts shaking…
‘Nuclear tinderbox’: Kim’s threats put North Korea on wrong side of history | Simon Tisdall
For western liberals and progressive champions of open, democratic government, a clutch of recalcitrant regimes around the world seems firmly stuck on what Barack Obama once called “the wrong side of history”. Iran’s misogynistic theocrats and Myanmar’s genocidal generals are among the worst offenders. Then there’s Vladimir Putin’s Russia, harking back to largely illusory former glories. Belarus, Syria, Nicaragua, Cambodia and Eritrea meet the regressive criteria, too. What all these regimes have in common is denial of the basic human right to self-determination – the individual’s right to have a…
US has wrecked chances of peace in Middle East, Putin tells Brics summit
US unilateralism has wrecked the chances of peace in the Middle East, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, told a crisis Brics meeting on Gaza as he attempted to woo leaders of the global south. The virtual meeting of 11 nations, convened by South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, came as Arab foreign ministers toured capitals to drum up support for a fresh UN security council resolution mandating Israel to introduce a full ceasefire and end what they say are breaches of international humanitarian law. The moves are the latest sign of…
Putin calls US supply of ATACMS weapons to Ukraine ‘another mistake’
Vladimir Putin has called the US delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Kyiv “another mistake by the United States” in his first public comments since an unprecedented Ukrainian strike destroyed helicopters at two airfields in Russian-occupied territory this week. The Russian president also claimed that the delivery of the army tactical missile system (ATACMS) missiles, which can strike targets more than 100 miles away and deliver salvoes with cluster munitions, would “not do Ukraine any good either. It will simply prolong [their] agony.” Yet the missiles have struck one…
Mutual praise, buzzwords plus a few walkouts: Xi and Putin meet in Beijing
Xi Jinping met his internationally isolated Russian counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday against the backdrop of China’s biggest diplomatic event of the year, underlining the close relationship between two leaders amid the war in Ukraine. The Chinese president, addressing delegates at the belt and road initiative (BRI) forum, spoke out against international sanctions during his opening speech. “Ideological confrontation, geopolitical rivalry and bloc politics are not the choice for us, but we stand against economic sanctions, economic coercions, and decoupling and supply chain disruptions,” Xi said. The US Commerce Department…
Xi Jinping welcomes ‘dear friend’ Vladimir Putin to Beijing
The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has welcomed his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin to Beijing, kicking off a multilateral summit overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war. Beijing this week hosts representatives of 130 countries for a forum on Xi’s vast trade and infrastructure project, the belt and road initiative (BRI). At the top of the guest list is the Russian president, who is on his first trip to a major global power since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine threw his regime into international isolation. Analysts say the invitation of Putin to Xi’s flagship…
The Guardian view on ties between North Korea and Russia: bad news, and not only for Ukraine | Editorial
North Korea is adept at grabbing attention through both rhetoric and weaponry. On Friday it announced that it had launched its first “tactical nuclear attack submarine”, though the South Korean military said it did not appear to be operational. The most important development of recent days, however, is the report that Kim Jong-un will soon visit Russia, to discuss weapons sales with Vladimir Putin. Moscow has also proposed trilateral naval drills with China. An old but never easy three-way relationship is picking up again. Mr Kim’s grandfather rose to power…
Putin’s collection of oddball allies grows by the day. It’s time the west got tougher | Simon Tisdall
Vladimir Putin must be feeling fairly desperate if he’s relying on Kim Jong-un for friendship and support. There’s a reason why North Korea’s unpredictable dictator is among the world’s most ostracised leaders. Nobody likes him and he don’t care, as the saying goes. Yet Russia’s despised, isolated war-criminal president is in much the same leaky boat these days, slowly sinking, calling out for help. After being forced to duck the Brics and G20 summits for fear of arrest, humiliated Putin’s consolation prize is a possible meeting with Kim in Vladivostok…
Putin defends invasion of Ukraine in Brics summit address
Vladimir Putin has defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sought to rally leaders of the Brics nations meeting in South Africa to the Kremlin’s side. In a prerecorded video message aired on Tuesday to the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa, Putin repeated his earlier unfounded claims that the west was responsible for the war in Ukraine. “Our actions in Ukraine are dictated by only one thing – to end the war that was unleashed by the west and its satellites against the people who live in the…