Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R).Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
China and India, key partners of Russia, recently expressed their concerns about the war to Putin.
Putin declared four regions of Ukraine to be Russia on Friday, a move opposed by the West.
Both China and India abstained in a UN vote condemning the annexation as illegal.
China and India on Friday abstained from voting on a United Nations resolution condemning Russia for claims of having annexed parts of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Friday signed decrees claiming that four regions in Ukraine are now part of Russia, a move largely dismissed by the West as illegal annexation.
The 15-member UN Security Council voted on a resolution declaring Putin’s actions illegal and invalid and recognizing that the regions are still part of Ukraine, not Russia.
The resolution passed by a 10-1 vote, with Russia being the only veto, the Associated Press reported. China, India, Brazil and Gabon abstained.
China and India were powerful partners of Russia during the war and refused to impose sanctions like the West did. But the UN vote came just weeks after Putin admitted his counterparts in both countries had expressed concerns about the war.
During a Sept. 15 meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan, Putin acknowledged that Xi has “questions and concerns” about the war. The following day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the war in a face-to-face meeting with Putin.
“I know today’s era is not an era of war and I spoke to you on the phone about it,” Modi told Putin, Portal reported.
Putin replied: “I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine and I know your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible.”
An expert previously told Insider that pressure from Xi and Modi — and fear of losing them as partners — may have partially motivated Putin’s recent escalation of the war, mobilizing troops and threatening nuclear weapons.
“The evidence of criticizing allies like China or neutral states like India clearly puts more pressure on him,” Robert English, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies Russia, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, told Insider.
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