“I think what you heard in Uzbekistan by both the leaders of China and in India are indicative of the fact that Mr. Putin doesn’t have a whole lot of sympathetic ears out there to what he’s been doing in Ukraine,” John Kirby said.
Washington: Russian President Vladimir Putin is isolating himself from the international community, the White House said Friday a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him that it is not the time for war in Ukraine.
“Today’s era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this,” Modi told Putin during their meeting in Samarkand on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. “I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible,” Putin told Modi.
The White House was asked about this.
“I think what you heard in Uzbekistan by both the leaders of China and in India are indicative of the fact that Mr. Putin doesn’t have a whole lot of sympathetic ears out there to what he’s been doing in Ukraine,” John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, told reporters at a news conference.
“This was supposed to be a show of unity around Vladimir Putin, and the Indian Prime Minister just told him that it is not the time for a war in Ukraine. So is it your view that maybe the alliances that Putin was able to forge or to maintain around the war in Ukraine are, you know, weakening or crumbling?” a reporter asked Kirby.
“And do you expect other countries to change their stance publicly like India just did?? he was asked.
“He (Putin) is only further isolating himself from the international community. We don’t believe that now’s the time to be doing any business as usual with Russia with respect to what they’re doing in Ukraine,” Kirby said.
“Again, look at the imagery out of Izium. I don’t know how any world leader can look at that and determine that it’s okay to do business as usual in Russia. I think you’re starting to see even countries who were not vociferous and strident in opposing him are beginning to question what he’s doing in Ukraine, and rightly so, because it’s just brutal,” said the White House official.
“It’s absolutely depraved and brutal. And I think it’s becoming more and more obvious to the rest of the international community what Mr. Putin and his soldiers are capable of in the worst possible way,” Kirby said in response.
