WP: Russia turns to diplomacy ahead of anniversary of attack on Ukraine to get rid of image of rogue state

Before the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia turned to diplomacy to show that it was not isolated due to sanctions. This is reported by The Washington Post.

The publication writes that the purpose of a series of meetings and conversations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, which took place in recent days, is to show the Russian audience that the head of Russia has retained the status of a “world leader”.

On this This week, Putin called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to agree on the goals of the OPEC+ meeting, demonstrating that Moscow is still a player in the oil market.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit this year, and Lavrov met with Egyptian and Pakistani counterparts after returning from a diplomatic tour of Africa.

WP writes that this confirms the claims it makes The Kremlin that the world is too big for Europe and America to isolate such a large country as Russia.

Political scientist Fyodor Krashennikov believes that while the Kremlin can create for the electorate the appearance of international support for Putin, the lack of invitations to events like the World Economic Forum in Davos is of little importance.

“It is very important for Putin to show his electorate that he is a world leader. We can laugh when we see Lavrov driving around Africa, but what matters to Putin is that that part of Russian society that believes everything they say on TV watches the news and says: «What a wonderful Putin we have. There is no isolation»”, — Krashennikov explained.

Russian diplomatic efforts are having some effect. South Africa last month warmly welcomed Lavrov as a “valuable partner” and described the outcome of the meeting as “strengthening an already good relationship.” The son of the President of Uganda and his likely successor, Lieutenant General Muhuzi Kainerugaba, openly supported Russia in the war with Ukraine, tweeting last year: “The majority of humanity (not whites) support Russia's position in Ukraine.”

B In the case of the Putin-Xi Jinping meeting announced by the Kremlin, Russia has not yet been able to get confirmation from Beijing.

• Putin suddenly announced that the main task of the Russian Federation is to save the country.