Vladimir Putin was given a stern dressing down by the president of Tajikistan in another indicator that the Russian dictator has lost respect and influence in his own backyard.
Fellow longstanding dictator Emomali Rahmon, ruler of the Central Asian state of 9 million since 1994, seized upon Putin’s woes back home and in Ukraine to give him a piece of his mind and tell him how he really feels during a summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
A glum and awkward looking Putin slouched back in his chair and took the seven minute tirade as a host of Central Asian leaders and officials at the Commonwealth Of Independent States Summit (CIS) watched on.
‘Yes, we are small nations, we are not 100-200 million, but we have history, culture, we love, we want to be respected.’ Rahmon said in a fiery outburst.
‘We do not need anything; just to be respected.’
The humiliation was witnessed by the rulers of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
‘Why do we have to beg (Russia to attend) some miserable forum in Tajikistan?’ Rahmon demanded of Putin, jabbing his finger and making expansive gestures.
Emomali Rahmon, ruler of the Central Asian state of 9 million since 1994, seized upon Putin’s woes back home and in Ukraine to give him a piece of his mind and tell him how he really feels
A glum and awkward looking Putin slouched back in his chair and took the seven minute tirade
Central Asian leaders and officials of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan at the Commonwealth Of Independent States Summit (CIS) watched on
Tajikistan is one of the smallest Central Asian republics that gained its independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991
‘I gave instructions to the Foreign Ministry, I even talked to you to ask (Russia) to attend at least at the ministerial level. No, at the level of deputy ministers. Is this what Tajikistan deserves, a strategic partner?’
It is not the first time that Putin’s so-called friends and partners in Asia have turned on him publicly since his debacle in Ukraine now that they sense weakness and smell blood.
At a summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan last month, Chinese premier Xi Xinping snubbed dinner with Putin, while Indian prime minister Narendra Modi told Putin in front of the media that ‘now is not the time for war’.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also humiliated the Russian warmonger by making him wait in front of rolling cameras for half a minute before coming out to greet him ahead of talks.
In the rambling and unscripted tirade, the Tajik dictator almost predicted Putin’s demise, accusing his Russian counterpart of making the same mistakes that led to the downfall of the Soviet Union last century.
He also complained that Russian businessmen came into the country and enriched themselves by extracting Tajikistan’s natural resources while refusing to invest in the country.
‘We do not want your money, we want to be respected as we deserve. We host your military bases, we do everything you ask for, we really try to be what you pretend to be to us ”strategic partners.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping before an extended-format meeting of heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit – before Xi snubbed Putin by skipping dinner with him
Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a photo shaking hands prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit before telling Putin off over his war in Ukraine
But we are never being treated like strategic partners! No offence, but we want to be respected!’
While Putin has continued to try to project a strong image of everything going to plan externally, that his erstwhile clients and vassals of small, impoverished dictatorships are turning on him – as well as big, important countries like India and China – tells its own story.
Putin has been severely weakened by the disastrous course his senseless war in Ukraine has taken since last month, when Ukraine started autumn offensives to liberate occupied territory.
His announcement of a partial mobilisations and rushed through annexations of the Ukrainian territory his army has managed to occupy have been seen as desperate signs of weakness rather than strength.
His prestige was dealt another blow when Ukraine managed to hit the Kerch bridge that joins Crimea to the Russian mainland with what is currently thought to have been a truck bomb.
And his callous bombardment of Ukrainian cities with long range missiles – which has done nothing to impact the strategic position – have similarly been seen as symptoms of his impotence.
Putin recently announced that Russia does not need to unleash massive new strikes on Ukraine at the moment, amid speculation that Moscow’s supplies of precision weapons may be depleted.
A fragment of a destroyed Russian tank is seen in the village of Pisky-Radkivski liberated from the Russian occupiers, Kharkiv region. Putin’s battlefield reversals are what have emboldened his supposed friends in Asia to turn on him as they smell blood
And he also said that the ‘partial mobilisation’ he announced last month, which the defence minister said aimed to recruit 300,000 soldiers, was finishing and would be over within two weeks.
‘Nothing additional is planned. No proposals have been received from the defence ministry and I don’t see any additional need in the foreseeable future,’ Putin said of his on-going mobilisation.
‘Now 222,000 people have been mobilised out of 300,000. Within about two weeks, all mobilisation activities will be completed.’
But the battlefield outlook for Putin remains grim, with Ukraine holding the initiative amid expectations that they will push on to retake the Kherson region and venture further into occupied Donbas.
Expectations are also low for Putin’s new conscript army, as reports come out that he is unable to feed them, clothe them or arm them, and they are being thrown onto the front lines with zero or close to zero training.
And the Russian autocrat will be disheartened to hear that the United States will send fresh munitions and military vehicles to Ukraine as part of a new $725 million assistance package aimed at bolstering the country’s defence against the Russian invasion, the Defense Department said.
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