Xi Jimping supports Putin in his demand that NATO give up expanding to the East
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, was waiting for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as the main guest at the opening of the Winter Olympics and the meeting they held this Friday in Beijing confirmed that strategic relationship between two countries -one the largest of the planet and another the most populous -, who share the privilege or the disgrace of being at the center of criticism from the West. Russia, for its ongoing military harassment of Ukraine, and China, for doing the same to Taiwan, in addition to cracking down on opposition in Hong Kong.
The two leaders have not met in person since the beginning of the pandemic. In that period, Putin has made only three trips abroad: to Geneva in June 2021 to meet with the American president, Joe Biden; to India, last December; and now to China. But the Russian and Chinese presidents have held several telematic summits in 2020 and 2021.
The central issue of this Friday’s meeting was the signing of a joint declaration that, as Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, has said, shows that the two countries have a “common vision” of international security. The document states that the countries in possession of nuclear weapons “must abandon the mentality of the times of the Cold War”.
THE KEYS:
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Agreement point.
The two countries have a “common vision” of international security, they say from the Kremlin -
Mutual trust.
“Our countries work together to implement true multilateralism,” says XI
The text includes Beijing’s support for Moscow’s proposals on the ‘security guarantees’, written and legally binding, which it hoped to obtain, although without success for the time being, from the United States and NATO. In particular, the withdrawal of the infrastructures of the Atlantic Alliance from Eastern Europe and the rejection of Ukraine being integrated into the bloc. So China is completely in solidarity with Russia that the Alliance should stop expanding.
“The parties believe that certain states, alliances or political-military coalitions pursue the objective of obtaining directly or indirectly military advantages unilaterally to the detriment of the security of others,” reads the joint statement, which says nothing about the right of countries like Ukraine to adhere to the alliances they deem appropriate. In addition, China and Russia oppose attempts to solve international problems “through sneaky schemes or through harassment, the use of force or sanctions.” Hence, they consider the United States the main factor of global “destabilization”, both in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region.
In Putin’s opinion, relations between Beijing and Moscow “are going through an unprecedented moment.” “They are an example to follow. They are progressively developing in a spirit of friendship and strategic partnership,” the Kremlin chief added. For his part, the Chinese leader called for “firmly supporting efforts to protect our fundamental interests in the world. Our political and strategic mutual trust is strengthened.” According to Xi, “our countries work together to implement true multilateralism and serve as a pillar to unite the world, to overcome the current crisis.”
diplomatic advances
But, beyond the usual enmity of Moscow and Beijing with the West, diplomacy in general advances in the interest of achieving a solution that resolves the conflict in Ukraine and puts an end to tensions. There is satisfaction in Kiev that pressure from the West has “defeated Moscow’s strategy of intimidation.” This is estimated by the Foreign Minister, Dmitro Kuleba, who assured this Friday that “the current of delegations that visited the country prevented Russia from aggravating the security situation. Our partners believe in Ukraine and this implies that Moscow’s strategy of intimidation failed. Russia has lost this game. This week the leaders of the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom and Turkey visited Kiev.
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