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Putin's visit to Crimea and Mariupol/ Analysts reveal the Russian president's plan: Two important messages for the West and the Russian people
Written by SOT.COM.AL 19 Mars 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visits to Crimea and Mariupol were chosen to send messages to the West and the Russian people, an expert on Russia and Eastern Europe says. The visits were made immediately after the issuance of the arrest warrant for the Russian leader by the International Criminal Court.
Mr Putin visited the occupied city of Mariupol for the first time since Moscow illegally annexed it in September.
He went there after visiting Crimea on Saturday, to mark the ninth anniversary of the annexation of this Ukrainian peninsula in the Black Sea.
The visits came after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader, accusing him of war crimes.
"By showing up in Crimea and Mariupol, he is trying to send two important messages, both to the West and to the Russian people," said Mark Voyger, former special adviser on Russian and Eurasian affairs.
The Russian president also went to the command of the Russian forces in the city of Rostov-on-Don, where he met with the highest officers, accompanied by the chief of staff Valery Gerasimov.
"For the West this is a message of defiance... So he is showing that he does not feel guilty and basically wants to show that he is above these legal developments," says Mr. Voyger.
Regardless of the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, analysts say it is unlikely that the planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping will be cancelled.
"I think in this case, ideological affiliation and alignment of interests with Mr. Putin, and a distraction of Western attention to areas away from Taiwan and East Asia, may better serve Mr. Xi's interests," Mr. Voyger says.
Analysts say that the main purpose of President Putin's visit is to show the Russian people that he has things under control./VOA