Associated Press: The West has failed to isolate Moscow

According to IRNA’s report on Friday, quoting the Associated Press news agency; In the past few days, Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with world leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is a member of NATO, and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been smiling with foreign leaders during his numerous trips to all corners of the world. He shakes hands and takes photos, some of whom are considered friends of the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Wednesday expressed his willingness to hold talks with his Russian counterpart to discuss the release of American prisoners as well as issues in Ukraine, ending a months-long high-level diplomatic standoff. Although there is no plan for this request, it is expected to be implemented in the coming days.

These face-to-face and phone calls cast a shadow of doubt on the core of the US strategic policy to end the war in Ukraine, which is to isolate Moscow diplomatically and economically along with defeating its forces on the battlefield to force Russia out of Ukraine.

Even at the same time as announcing plans to contact his Russian counterpart, Blinken continued to insist on the real isolation of Moscow and claimed that the visit of high-ranking Russian officials was only to contain the damage caused to this country and a reaction to International criticism of Moscow for the war in Ukraine.

According to US officials, Russia is working to strengthen the few remaining alliances and allies, some of which, like Iran, are enemies of Washington. But it should be noted that even countries that are America’s partners, such as Egypt and Uganda, have warmly welcomed high-ranking Russian officials.

After months of arguments since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Washington has accepted the need to interact with Moscow about not negotiating with Russia due to Moscow not taking diplomacy seriously and its unreliability. The White House’s public request to interact and communicate with Lavrov by announcing an important offer to Russia for the release of American citizens Paul Whelan and Brittany Greiner has surprised many.

Blinken and Lavrov’s talks are the highest-level contact between the United States and Russia since February 15, before Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which may prepare the ground for personal talks between the two sides. However, Biden administration officials say there are no plans for a face-to-face meeting.

It is possible that the Kremlin will delay the process of making contact between the two sides in order to achieve maximum points at the same time as the news of Washington’s request for interaction is revealed.

According to Lavrov’s visits to countries around the world, so far Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries have ignored the requests of the West to stay away from Russia.

Blinken has tried to downplay Lavrov’s visits, seeing it as a reaction to the cold global treatment of Russia due to the lack of wheat and grain exports from Ukraine, which has now affected large parts of developing countries. Especially since the agreement supported by the United Nations to supply stockpiles to world markets has not yet been implemented.

According to the claims of the United States and Europe, Russia has come under heavy criticism due to the attack on Ukraine and the resulting food and energy shortages.

Despite Lavrov’s withdrawal from the recent G20 meeting in Indonesia following his peers’ complaints about the global impact of this war, it is another sign of Russia’s exclusion from important international events and meetings such as the ASEAN regional forum next week. There is no UN General Assembly in September or the Tri-Asian Summit in November.

Russia’s close relations with China and India and many developing countries in Asia and Africa have continued, many of which depend on Russian energy or other Russian exports despite their dependence on Ukrainian grain. New Delhi, which has close and long-standing ties with Moscow, has increased its energy imports from Russia despite being a member of the Quadrilateral Group with the United States, Australia and Japan, despite pressure from the West. Kepler data shows that India has bought nearly 60 million barrels of oil from Russia in 2022, compared to only 12 million barrels in the whole of 2021.

But the Philippines, another ally of the United States, has canceled the contract to purchase 16 military transport helicopters from Russia due to concerns about possible US sanctions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has also excitedly published pictures of Lavrov’s visit to the capitals of the world, challenging the claims about Russia’s isolation, among them, his meeting with his Chinese, Indian and Indonesian counterparts, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his ally Lately, Washington and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who receives billions of dollars in annual aid from the United States, are seen as close allies.