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Russia and China signaled deepening ties at a series of meetings in Moscow on Wednesday and were watching closely for signs that Beijing might offer stronger Kremlin support for the war in Ukraine.
The Chinese Communist Party’s chief foreign policy officer, Wang Yi,’s visit comes at a time when the conflict in Ukraine continues to upend the international diplomatic order.
Relations between Russia and the West are at their lowest since the Cold War, and relations between the United States and China are also in a state of severe tension. Moscow this week suspended its participation in the final nuclear arms control treaty with Washington. In recent days, the United States has expressed concern that China could supply Russia with arms and ammunition. The king met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and met with President Vladimir Putin.
At the beginning of the talks, Lavrov said, “Our relationship continues to develop dynamically and we are ready to speak out in defense of each other’s interests despite the great turmoil in the global arena. It shows ,” he said.
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China has explicitly refused to criticize its aggression against Ukraine and has reiterated Moscow’s claims that the US and NATO are responsible for provoking the Kremlin while violating punitive sanctions imposed on Russia. Russia, on the other hand, has been a firm supporter of China amid tensions with the United States over Taiwan.
The two countries have held a series of military exercises, demonstrating the increasingly close defense ties between the two countries.
The settlement has unnerved the West, with Secretary of State Antony Brinken warning that China’s involvement in the Kremlin’s war effort would cause “serious problems.” The king’s meeting with Lavrov follows Tuesday’s meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, the powerful secretary of Russia’s National Security Council, in the West’s efforts to maintain control by blocking a China-Russia alliance. He called for closer cooperation with Beijing to counter the
The visit came amid heavy fighting in Ukraine. Neither side seemed to be gaining momentum after weeks of substantial winter confrontation.
At least seven civilians have been killed in the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian president’s office said Wednesday. Ukrainian officials said the fighting was still most intense in the eastern regions.
In the partially occupied Donetsk region, the Ukrainian governor of the region, Pablo Kirilenko, accused Kremlin forces of using “scorched earth tactics” as they ravaged cities, towns and villages. In the neighboring Luhansk region, which is also largely occupied, Russian forces tried to break through Ukrainian defenses near the city of Kreminna, but the attack softened after “very heavy fighting,” said the governor of the Luhansk region. Serhi Hayday said.
The growing relationship between China and Russia is another example of war expanding into dangerous new territory.
President Putin’s announcement on Tuesday that Russia would suspend its participation in the new START treaty sparked renewed concern about the fate of an already living arms deal.
The move follows Moscow’s decision to allow inspections of its nuclear sites to resume last fall, but also to its refusal to hold scheduled talks under the agreement. The Russian House of Representatives said Wednesday that officials and lawmakers will pass it on as an 11-hour warning to Washington and put Putin’s request to suspend the treaty amid tensions over Ukraine. Approved to.
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