Russian President Vladimir Putin ended his state visit with a speech to journalists at Tashkent airport, Asian media reported.
He was escorted at Tashkent airport by his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov reported that Putin’s state visit to Uzbekistan was a three-day event due to the “extensive agenda.”
Putin arrived in the country on Sunday evening. On Monday, the leaders held talks in narrow and extended formats. Afterwards, they attended the first meeting of the two countries’ Council of Regions.
During the talks, they signed agreements on the implementation of new projects totalling more than $20 billion. The leaders also agreed to set up a $500-million investment fund to support joint projects of leading enterprises.
Putin commented on the Ukrainian government, arguing that “it is necessary to conduct a deep analysis.”
The first thing in plain sight and what is reported to me is that the Constitution of Ukraine provides for the extension of powers only for the Rada [Ukrainian parliament], but nothing is said about the extension of the powers of the president of Ukraine (…) If they wanted to hold presidential elections, it would be necessary to repeal the martial law.’
He noted that only Ukraine’s political legal system could decide on the issue of the government’s legitimacy. The Russian president went on to say that Ukrainian allies probably wanted to blame the current government for all unpopular decisions, including lowering the draft age.
Putin answers military questions
Vladimir Putin also warned NATO representatives against calling for strikes on Russian territory.
“Everything goes around the events on the approaches to Kharkiv, so it was them [NATO countries] who provoked these events near Kharkiv. I said six months ago that if they launched strikes, we would be forced to create a security zone.”
Asked about removing the Taliban from the list of terrorist organisations, Putin said Russia needed to build relations with the current government despite challenges.
There are problems in Afghanistan, they are known to everyone, but you have to build relations with the current government somehow. They are the incumbent power.
Putin also mentioned foreign instructors in Ukraine.
“Who maintains the precision weapons? Instructors in the form of mercenaries, and they are taking casualties. [They come in] under the guise of releasing some Ukrainian units standing along the border, releasing them in order to send them to the battlefield, keeping them for safety – nonsense and rubbish. If they are there, they will also be in the kill zone of our armed forces.”
The president also said that “Russia would have found a solution with Ukraine long ago if its authorities followed its national interests.” He attributed Russia’s non-participation in conferences on Ukraine to the fact that “it is not clear what is discussed [at such conferences].”
I’ve said it a thousand times, [and] it’s as if they don’t have ears. There are some movements on the part of our Western (…) partners who say that Russia is refusing to negotiate. We are not refusing. The Ukrainian side has refused publicly.
Putin also stated that Ukraine would not succeed in turning the situation on the battlefield.
“The tragedy of Ukraine is that its authorities do not consider the AFU soldiers as their own people.”
