Russia and China declare their opposition to NATO expansion in Eastern Europe

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putinand its Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinpinghave declared with one voice their opposition to what they perceive as a NATO expansion maneuver in eastern europe and its attempts to “undermine the stability of other countries”, in a veiled reference to the tension in Ukraine.

In a joint statement, Russia and China not only “oppose the further expansion of NATO”, but also call on the Atlantic Alliance “to abandon the ideological approaches of the Cold War era and respect the sovereignty, security and the interests of other countries”.

This statement comes at a time of enormous tension between Russia and the NATO countries over the buildup of Russian military on the border with Ukraine, prolegomenon of an invasion, according to the countries of the Alliance, with the United States at the head. Russia denies that it has an interest in ordering a military offensive and accuses NATO of artificially increasing tension to justify an expansion maneuver towards Eastern Europe.

As part of the negotiations to defuse the tension, Russia has submitted a series of written proposals asking NATO to check your role as a guarantor of stability in Europeinstead of acting as a conflict-generating force. In this regard, the Chinese president “supports the proposals put forward by the Russian Federation on the formation of long-term legally binding security guarantees on the European continent,” according to the statement.