Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Growing conflict with NATO
Putin is banking on solidarity with China
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NATO fears a military escalation in the Ukraine conflict and increases the pressure on Russia. Due to the tense situation in Europe, President Putin is seeking proximity to China and announces a video summit with President Xi Jinping.
In view of the growing tensions with the West in the Ukraine conflict, Russia is seeking closer exchange with China. As the government in Moscow announced, President Vladimir Putin wants to have a longer video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
“The international situation, especially on the European continent, is very, very tense at the moment and requires talks between allies,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The tone on the part of NATO and the USA is very aggressive. The conversation will also be about energy, trade and investment.
In the meantime, Putin has called on NATO and the United States to “immediately” negotiate security guarantees for Russia in the Ukraine conflict. The head of state had underlined the need for negotiations on “legal guarantees for the security of our country”, the Kremlin said after a meeting between Putin and his Finnish colleague Sauli Niinistö. An eastward expansion of the military alliance and the stationing of weapon systems in Ukraine and other neighboring countries of Russia must be ruled out, Putin said, according to the information.
A week ago, Putin spoke to US President Joe Biden about the tensions in the Ukraine conflict. Biden had warned Putin against an invasion of Ukraine, where Russia supports pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, in view of the Russian troop deployment on the border. At that time, Putin was already calling for security guarantees and a waiver of further eastward expansion of NATO, primarily an admission of Ukraine into the transatlantic military alliance.
NATO and the European Union have also warned Russia of the grave consequences of a military escalation in the conflict. China is currently facing increasing criticism in the West in the run-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February for human rights violations.
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