‘Impossible’ to isolate Russia

President Vladimir Putin yesterday said it was "impossible" to isolate Russia and hailed Asia's growing global influence, as Moscow looks east in the face of unprecedented Western sanctions over Ukraine.

Washington and Brussels have pummelled Moscow with a barrage of economic and personal sanctions after Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.

Facing deteriorating ties with Western capitals, Moscow is seeking to pivot the country towards the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

"No matter how much someone would like to isolate Russia, it is impossible to do this," Putin told the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Pacific port city of Vladivostok.

He added that Russia is "coping with the technological, financial and economic aggression of the West", insisting the economic situation in Russia is "stabilising".

As Moscow seeks to instead bolster ties with Asia -- especially key ally China -- Putin welcomed the growing role of the Asia-Pacific region in global affairs.

"The role... of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region has significantly increased," he said at the forum, adding that partnerships will create "colossal new opportunities for our people".

Putin yesterday met Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, whose government is facing diplomatic isolation as well. Putin hailed Myanmar as a "long-standing and reliable partner", while Min Aung Hlaing called the Russian president "a leader of the world".

As the Ukraine war rages into its seventh month, with tens of thousands killed and millions displaced, the global cost of the crisis is unfolding. Countries are confronted with skyrocketing energy prices and serious grain shortages.

Putin yesterday denied Russia was using energy as a weapon. He added that Moscow would stop delivering oil and gas supplies to countries that introduced price caps, as some Western countries are considering.

But Putin yesterday said most of the Ukrainian grain, which resumed to flow after a UN-brokered deal, had been shipped to EU countries, not developing nations.

Putin is expected next week to hold an in-person meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The two leaders will meet at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held in Uzbekistan on September 15 and 16, a Russian diplomat said yesterday.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's nuclear operator yesterday said it would support the deployment of UN peacekeepers at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant, a day after the UN atomic watchdog called for a security zone around the site.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report Tuesday saying the situation at the nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, was "untenable". The agency sent a team to the site last week.

Putin yesterday said there was "no military equipment" at the plant in southern Ukraine, adding that he "certainly trusts" the IAEA report.