• Russian state media, Vladimir Putin will go to two minor former Soviet states in central Asia this week.
• This will be his first known journey outside of Russia since he authorized the invasion of Ukraine.
• According to Zarubin, he will attend a summit of Caspian countries in Ashgabat that will include the presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.

According to a report on Russian state media on Sunday, Vladimir Putin will go to two minor former Soviet states in central Asia this week. This will be his first known journey outside of Russia since he authorised the invasion of Ukraine.

The invasion by Russia on February 24 resulted in hundreds of deaths, millions of displaced people, and harsh financial penalties from the West, all of which, according to Putin, are reasons to strengthen commercial ties with other countries like China, India, and Iran.

Putin would travel to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan before meeting Indonesian President Joko Widodo for discussions in Moscow, according to Pavel Zarubin, the Kremlin correspondent for the Russian television network Rossiya 1.

Putin will visit Imomali Rakhmon, the longest-serving president of a former Soviet state and a close Russian friend, in Dushanbe. According to Zarubin, he will attend a summit of Caspian countries in Ashgabat that will include the presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.

According to Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia’s upper chamber of parliament, Putin also intends to travel to Grodno, Belarus, on June 30 and July 1 to participate in a forum with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Putin’s last known overseas travel was to Beijing in early February, where he and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a “no limits” friendship pact only hours before attending the Olympic Winter Games’ opening ceremony.

On February 24, Russia claims to have sent troops into Ukraine in order to weaken that nation’s military prowess, prevent the West from using it as a means of provocation against it, expel nationalists, and defend Russian-speaking populations in the region’s east. The invasion is described as an imperialistic territory grab by Ukraine.

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