WSJ<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe shift in rhetoric comes in the fifth year of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion. The consequences of the war are increasingly affecting not only Russia but also countries that maintain political and economic ties with it.<\/p>\n
Modi urged Putin to end the war<\/p>\n
During a recent summit in Kyrgyzstan, Narendra Modi urged Putin to end the protracted confrontation. The statement was particularly notable given India\u2019s long-standing relationship with Moscow, which dates back to the Soviet era.<\/p>\n
It is time to move from an endless war toward ending it.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Narendra Modi<\/p>\n
The Indian prime minister had previously expressed concern about the Russian invasion, but this time he used much stronger language. His remarks came amid mounting external pressure on New Delhi and growing economic and security risks associated with the war.<\/p>\n
Tokayev questioned the continuation of hostilities<\/p>\n
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev voiced a similar position during a meeting with Putin in Omsk in July. The Kazakh president said that representatives of many countries did not understand why Moscow had still not ended the war.<\/p>\n
The nature of the conflict is not entirely clear to many, including us.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Kassym-Jomart Tokayev<\/p>\n
These statements coincided with a period in which Russia\u2019s position in the war had become more difficult. The advance of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine had largely stalled, while Ukrainian forces continued to strike oil refineries and infrastructure belonging to major e-commerce companies.<\/p>\n
During a visit to Moscow in August, CIA Director John Ratcliffe also urged Putin to return to the negotiating process.<\/p>\n
India and Kazakhstan are feeling the effects of the war<\/p>\n
India is under pressure from Western countries seeking to reduce its purchases of Russian oil. Another factor was a Russian missile strike on a cargo ship in the Black Sea in July. Four Indian crew members were killed in the attack.<\/p>\n
For Kazakhstan, disruptions to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium have become one of the main risks. This route is crucial for Kazakh oil exports, while escalating tensions in the Black Sea have created additional supply problems.<\/p>\n
Concern may be growing that the escalation of the conflict is spreading and affecting other countries and their economies.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Hanna Notte of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies<\/p>\n
Russia has long sought to deepen cooperation with India, which buys Russian oil and weapons. New Delhi\u2019s reliance on Moscow has drawn criticism from Washington. In 2025, US President Donald Trump criticized purchases of Russian oil and introduced measures that raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50%.<\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s tougher language may indicate India\u2019s desire to show its Western partners that its economic relationship with Russia does not amount to support for the war. At the same time, New Delhi is preparing to host a BRICS summit, whose members include Russia, China, and Brazil. The group presents itself as an alternative center of influence in global politics.<\/p>\n
India wants its Western partners to know that even if it buys more oil or weapons from Russia, it ultimately does not support the war.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Sreeram Chaulia, professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs<\/p>\n
Russian influence in neighboring countries is weakening<\/p>\n
Public criticism from representatives of former Soviet republics points to the gradual weakening of Russia\u2019s position in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. At the same time, US companies are increasing investments in Kazakhstan, Armenia, and other countries, creating additional opportunities for them to reduce their dependence on Moscow.<\/p>\n
Tokayev\u2019s statement in July came amid disruptions to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium caused by drone attacks. Because of the danger, shipowners were also avoiding loading at the terminal in Novorossiysk.<\/p>\n
Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Center, suggested that consortium members Chevron and ExxonMobil may have approached Kazakhstan over the delays and the resulting losses.<\/p>\n
For Tokayev, the main reason was pressure from the West.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Temur Umarov<\/p>\n
Armenia has also become more outspoken against Putin\u2019s policies following the deterioration of its relations with Russia. Yerevan was dissatisfied that Moscow did not deploy its peacekeepers to prevent bloodshed during Azerbaijan\u2019s 2023 offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.<\/p>\n
In 2025, Donald Trump hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House, where they signed a peace agreement. The document provides for new US investment in Armenia, including the construction of a data center.<\/p>\n
There is a sense that the Russians are now focused on Ukraine, and this gives these countries confidence that they can afford to be more critical of Moscow.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Hanna Notte<\/p>\n
Moscow does not expect a swift diplomatic breakthrough<\/p>\n
Donald Trump\u2019s representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are expected to visit Moscow and Kyiv next weekend with proposals for ending Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine. However, people close to the Kremlin believe the chances of reaching an agreement are extremely low.<\/p>\n
Previous trips to Russia by Witkoff and Kushner produced no results. Moscow sees no reason to expect that the US representatives will offer terms this time that the Russian side considers \u201cacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Putin remains willing to end the war only on Russia\u2019s terms. Moscow continues to toughen its demands, believing it retains the upper hand on the battlefield. Analysts see no sign that the Kremlin is prepared to soften its key positions, despite increasingly sharp criticism from countries long regarded as Russia\u2019s partners.<\/p>\n
Mounting economic losses, risks to trade and security, and the weakening of Russian influence are compelling Moscow\u2019s partners to speak more openly about the war. At the same time, the Kremlin\u2019s position still shows no willingness to compromise or bring the hostilities to a swift end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Longstanding ties are colliding with rising economic and security costs, exposing a rare public divide among governments close…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[131],"tags":[96571,96572,50,96573,96570,326,96574,328],"class_list":["post-215964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vladimir-putin","tag-modi-putin-talks","tag-moscow-partners","tag-news","tag-putin-war-pressure","tag-putin-war-pressure-modi-putin-talks-tokayev-russia-criticism-russia-ukraine-war-moscow-partners","tag-russia-ukraine-war","tag-tokayev-russia-criticism","tag-vladimir-putin"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/117217308541532064","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}