Russian president to make 1st visits abroad since start of Ukraine war

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a visit to Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe on Tuesday in a first foreign trip since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The visit was announced by his spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a press briefing in Moscow on Monday.

"A working visit of President Putin to Tajikistan is scheduled for tomorrow. He will meet (Tajikistan’s President Emomali) Rahmon for talks," Peskov said.

The two leaders will have a "one-on-one" meeting, the spokesman further said.

After Tajikistan, the Russian leader will go to Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat where he will attend the 2022 summit of the Caspian states, Peskov said.

The last time Putin made a trip abroad was in early February, when he visited Beijing for the opening of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and had talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Russia launched war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, with 4,731 civilians killed and 5,900 injured in Ukraine so far amid the ongoing war, according to the latest UN estimates.