Putin tries to convince pro-Moscow leaders he is still in control of Russia after failed mutiny

Vladimir Putin has desperately tried to convince pro-Moscow world leaders that he still has a firm grip on power during his first international conference since the Wagner group’s aborted mutiny.

The Russian president tried to project an image of strength – following the chaos which gripped his country last month – as he addressed leaders attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) via video link.

Putin insisted to the conference: ‘The solidarity and high responsibility for the fate of the fatherland was clearly demonstrated by Russian political circles and the entire society by coming out as a united front against the attempted armed rebellion.’

Mercenary fighters led by Yevgeny Prigozhin marched towards Moscow on June 23 and 24, demanding the military leadership be replaced in a humiliating 24-hour episode for the Kremlin and the biggest threat to Putin in his 23 years in power.

Since then, the the dictator has desperately tried to shore up his authority, keeping his defence minister Sergei Shoigu in post, allegedly purging supporters of the mutiny and claiming victories in the war in Ukraine.

Putin used his first appearance with other world leaders to send a message of defiance to the West, insisting without evidence that Russia is growing stronger despite heavy sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.

‘Russia counters all these external sanctions, pressures and provocations and continues to develop as never before’, he told world leaders at the conference hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Putin also insisted that his illegal war in Ukraine was ‘steadily developing’ amid Kyiv’s counteroffensive, and withstanding ‘sanctions and provocations’.

He declared that he would like to thank those among the attending leaders who had supported his regime, after the recent internal threat to his hold on power.

‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues from the (SCO) countries who have expressed support for the actions of the Russian leadership,’ he said.

The SCO was founded by Russia, China and four central Asian countries as a countermeasure to limit the influence of the west in the region.

It has among its members India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Putin used his first appearance with other world leaders to send a message of defiance to the West

Belarus has applied to become a permanent member of the SCO next year, a move welcomed by Putin.

The country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko, is a staunch ally of Putin and helped to bring the mutiny to an end by brokering a peace deal with Prigozhin.

The SCO accounts for a huge portion of Eurasia and, with the world’s two most populous countries being members, encompasses 40 per cent of the global population.

 At last year’s SCO summit, Modi warned Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine was underway, ‘today’s era is not an era of war.’