Vladimir Putin could barely hide his delight when Myanmar’s brutal military junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing described him as the ‘King of Russia’ – and thanked him for his gift of six elephants
Prime Minister of Myanmar brands Putin the ‘King of Russia’
Vladimir Putin has been spotted grinning to himself after a visiting dictator dubbed him the ‘King of Russia’.
General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of a military junta which currently rules Myanmar, arrived in Moscow yesterday for a meeting with the Russian president amid rising tensions on the international stage. Like Putin, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine, General Hlaing also faces an arrest warrant from the Hague for alleged crimes against Rohingya Muslims in his home country.
The pair have enjoyed a warm relationship since the General came to power in a bloody coup back in 2021, with Wednesday marking his fourth visit to Russia since then. In a show of their apparent friendship, Hlaing lavished Putin with praise as they sat together in the Kremlin – and the Russian despot made no attempt to hide his joy when the Myanmar’s leader described him as a “King”.
Referring to the amount of time he had spent in power, General Hlaing said to Putin: “As far as I know, you have also been leading Russia for not five years, not 10 years, it has been much longer. It can be said that this is not just the leader of a country, this is the King of this country.”
It prompted a beaming smile from Putin, who has been president of Russia for 21 out of the last 25 years. For the other four years from 2008 to 2012, he served as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev, while effectively retaining near total political control. Despite his tight grip on power, Putin has still served less time as head of state as the ill-fated last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II.
In the meeting, Hlaing went on to tell Putin: “I believe that victory must be yours under your strong and decisive leadership”. In January, he gifted the Russian ruler six elephant calves, and Putin also took a moment to thank him for the gift. Russia is planning to build a small-scale nuclear power plant in Myanmar (formerly Burma), and is offering defence co-operation to the military junta.
Putin’s latest appearance came after Donald Trump claimed he wanted peace in his three year war with Ukraine. Trump – who has shown increasing sympathy towards the Kremlin as he turns his back on Ukraine – told a joint session of Congress this week that he had been “serious discussions with Russia” and had “received strong signals that they are ready for peace”.