MOSCOW (Dispatches) –
President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday it was “impossible” to isolate Russia and hailed Asia’s growing global influence, as Moscow looks east in the face of unprecedented Western sanctions over Ukraine.
Washington and Brussels have pummeled Moscow with a barrage of economic and personal sanctions after Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.
Putin said the West’s sanctions were short-sighted and a danger for the entire world which he said was increasingly turning towards Asia.
In a speech to the Eastern Economic Forum in the far east city of Vladivostok, Putin said the West had undermined the global economy with an “aggressive” attempt to impose its dominance across the world.
Putin added that following the imposition of sweeping Western sanctions in response to Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, Russia saw more opportunities in entering markets in the Middle East and Iran.
Facing deteriorating ties with Western capitals, Moscow is seeking to pivot the country towards the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
“No matter how much someone would like to isolate Russia, it is impossible to do this,” Putin told the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
He said the coronavirus pandemic has been replaced by other global challenges “threatening the whole world”, including “sanctions fever in the West”.
Putin blamed the “elusive dominance” of the United States and “the stubborn refusal of Western elites to see and recognize objective facts”.
He added that Russia is “coping with the technological, financial and economic aggression of the West”, insisting the economic situation in Russia is “stabilizing”.
Putin has repeatedly said that Russia’s economy is weathering the barrage of sanctions well, as the Kremlin’s ties with the West sink to new lows.
As Moscow seeks to instead bolster ties with Asia -- especially key ally China -- Putin welcomed the growing role of the Asia-Pacific region in global affairs.
“The role... of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region has significantly increased,” he said at the forum, adding that partnerships will create “colossal new opportunities for our people”.
Putin was joined at the forum by China’s top legislator Li Zhanshu -- who ranks third in the Chinese government hierarchy -- with a bilateral meeting scheduled for later in the day.
Putin’s participation in the forum in
the Far East -- a region with close geopolitical and economic ties to Russia’s Asian neighbors -- comes a day after the Russian president oversaw large-scale military drills there.
The week-long maneuvers, called Vostok-2022, were concluding on Wednesday and involved several Kremlin-friendly countries, including China.
Putin is expected next week to hold an in-person meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who has not left China since 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The two leaders will meet at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in Uzbekistan on September 15 and 16, a Russian diplomat said Wednesday.
Beijing and Moscow have drawn closer in recent years, ramping up cooperation as part of what they call a “no limits” relationship, acting as a counterweight to the global dominance of the United States.
Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine and provided diplomatic cover by blasting Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv, heightening tensions between China and the West.
Tensions were further strained during the August visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to self-ruled, democratic Taiwan, which China considers its territory.
In a sign of further rapprochement, Russia announced Tuesday that China will be switching from U.S. dollars to the national currencies of the two countries -- yuan and rubles -- to pay for deliveries of Russian natural gas.
Putin said Wednesday that “confidence has been lost” in U.S. dollars, euros and British pounds, and Russia is distancing itself from such “unreliable, compromised” currencies.