Ian Explains: Putin's partners and allies

Ian Explains: Putin's partners & allies | GZERO World

Does Vladimir Putin have any friends left? Despite Russia's international isolation after invading Ukraine, there are still countries supporting Moscow, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.

There are the loyalists, like Belarus, Syria, North Korea, and Eritrea, which have all voted against UN resolutions condemning Russia's actions. There is China, a partnership both Vladimir Putin and Xi Xinping refer to as "a friendship without limits." And there are the countries farther away, like Iran, which is directly supporting Russia's war in Ukraine by supplying Moscow with drones and ammunition.

Then, there are the countries on the fence, like India, Brazil, and South Africa. All have strong economic and diplomatic ties to both the West and Russia and are walking a tricky tightrope of calling for peace without participating in western sanctions.
So despite the West's efforts to isolate and cut off Russia from the rest of the world, Moscow still has plenty of allies to rely on during tough times.

Watch the GZERO World episode: Russia vs. NATO: Heightened risk of war

More from GZERO Media

US President Donald Trump pardons a turkey at the annual White House Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon in the Rose Garden in Washington, D.C., USA, on Nov. 25, 2025.
Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto

Although not all of our global readers celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s still good to remind ourselves that while the world offers plenty of fodder for doomscrolling and despair, there are still lots of things to be grateful for too.

Marine Le Pen, French member of parliament and parliamentary leader of the far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party and Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party and member of the European Parliament, gesture during an RN political rally in Bordeaux, France, September 14, 2025.
REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Army Chief Asim Munir holds a microphone during his visit at the Tilla Field Firing Ranges (TFFR) to witness the Exercise Hammer Strike, a high-intensity field training exercise conducted by the Pakistan Army's Mangla Strike Corps, in Mangla, Pakistan, on May 1, 2025.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)/Handout via REUTERS

Field Marshal Asim Munir, the country’s de facto leader, consolidated his power after the National Assembly rammed through a controversial constitutional amendment this month that grants him lifelong immunity from any legal prosecution.