Day 147 Roundup: Putin Alleges Ukrainian Violation of Preliminary Peace Deal; Progress Made on Grain Export Talks
The Facts
In a televised news conference, following a summit in Tehran with the leaders of Iran and Turkey, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin said Ukraine had shown no desire to fulfil the terms of a preliminary peace deal agreed in March. There was no immediate response from the Ukrainian government to Putin's remarks.
At the summit, Putin saw staunch support from Iran, with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei commenting that the West opposes an "independent and strong Russia". Khamenei also said that, had the country not sent troops into Ukraine, the Western alliance "would have waged a war" to return Crimea back to Kyiv's control after it was annexed by Russia in 2014.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Putin's trip to Iran shows how isolated Russia has become in the wake of this unprovoked, war of aggression. Iran is one of very few places left in the world Putin can receive public statements of support for his "special military operation," having ostracized much of the globe with an unjustified invasion on European soil. No wonder Russia is fast approaching pariah status in the West.
Pro-Russia narrative
Pres. Putin knows and has publicly commented that Russia cannot seek an isolationist foreign policy in today's interconnected world. As the West has refused to engage diplomatically with the Kremlin – instead imposing sanctions on Russia – the nation will continue to turn to partners outside the Western sphere of influence who value a more equitable distribution of power across the globe.