Putin secures China’s support amid Ukraine crisis

Vladimir Putin won China’s support on the main issues fueling the Ukrainian crisis and pitting Russia against Western countries, while European diplomatic efforts to avert conflict are intensifying.

On the occasion of the meeting between the Russian president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, the two countries published a joint statement criticizing US influence and the role “destabilizing” of Western military alliances, beginning with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in Europe and Asia.

Russia and China opposed”to any future enlargement” of the Atlantic Alliance, taking up Moscow’s demand to calm the tension with Western countries over Ukraine.

Russia has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to the border with its neighboring country for months, which for Westerners is a clear sign that a military plan is imminent.

But Russia denies this and says it is threatened by NATO, which it asks not to expand, and therefore not to include Ukraine and withdraw from Eastern Europe.

These demands are unacceptable to Western countries.

diplomatic offensive

From Beijing, and shortly before the start of the Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital, Putin assured that relations with China are living a moment “unprecedented”.

The two countries also defended this Friday the idea of ​​“security indivisibility”, on which Moscow bases itself to request that NATO leave its zone, arguing that the security of some cannot be achieved to the detriment of the security of others, but forgetting the right of each State, and therefore of Ukraine, to choose their allies.

The two countries also denounced the “negative influence of the United States for the peace and stability of the Asia Pacific region”.

Specifically, they expressed their “concern” about the creation in 2021 of the military alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, known as AUKUS.

In this context of crisis, Europe accelerates its diplomacy. This Friday, the visit to Moscow of President Emmanuel Macron, next Monday, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on February 15, was confirmed. The two European leaders will also travel to Kiev, on February 8 and 14, respectively.

France and Germany were the two mediators of the conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists supported by Moscow.

“There are several items on the agenda. First of all, there will be talks on security guarantees” demanded by Russia, the Kremlin spokesman said, referring to Macron’s visit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who also offered his mediation in the Ukrainian crisis on a visit to Kiev, accused Western countries on Friday of “Make things worse”.

Erdogan especially criticized the role of US President Joe Biden, stating that “has so far been unable to show a positive approach in this process.”

“Russia lost this game”

Also addressing the United States, the Kremlin called for accusations made Thursday from Washington that Russia was preparing a video of a fictitious attack by Ukraine to justify an invasion not be given credence.

“I advise you not to believe anyone on these issues, particularly the State Department.” American, said the spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov.

Pentagon and State Department spokesmen said Thursday they had evidence that Russia planned to release fake videos of an attack from Ukraine to use as a pretext for an invasion of the neighboring country. But they did not provide any documents to substantiate these claims.

For their part, the Ukrainian authorities said, on Friday, they were satisfied with the Western support that, according to them, allowed the “intimidation strategy” of Moscow will fail.

This week, leaders from the United Kingdom, Poland, Turkey and the Netherlands have traveled to Kiev.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba assured that “Russia lost this game.”

This Friday, the American computer giant YouTube closed the channels used by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, for “not respecting the rules of the YouTube community”.

Russia is accused of having instigated this conflict since 2014, after its annexation of the Crimean peninsula, and an estimated 13,000 people have been killed in the fighting since then.