Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping – two dictators are fraternizing against NATO. But this alliance is a “tragic result of all these decades” of Putin’s rule, says Russian opposition politician Vladimir Milov.
While Western politicians studiously stayed away in a de facto boycott of the opening ceremony in Beijing, Chinese ruler Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for someone else: Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin chief was the first foreign head of state to be personally received by Jinping in more than two years. And for Putin, too, the visit was one of the rare occasions to leave his residence near Moscow, where he has been living in self-isolation for almost two years and which is popularly known as the bunker.
Shortly before the opening ceremony, the two presented a paper whose gigantic length gives the impression that it must have been in the works since the summer games in Beijing 14 years ago. In the confrontation with the West, Xi thus strengthens his colleague Putin’s back: China supports Russia against NATO in Ukraine, in return Moscow supports Beijing in its efforts regarding Taiwan.
So Putin and Xi are allying themselves against liberal democracies while miming themselves as the “most democratic democrats” on earth. In the Russian state media, the merger of the shoulders is being celebrated as a great coup by Putin. The fraternization with China will ensure Russia’s victory against NATO, the Kremlin loyalists rejoice across all political shows.
What Vladimir Putin had to offer China
But the cheers of the propagandists could come too soon. If you look closely at the wording of the paper, you will see what a big concession Putin had to make in Beijing in order to gain political and economic support from his big neighbor. It is Taiwan that is the only geographical entity specifically addressed in the paper. In it, Russia affirms that it will always agree with the inalienable territorial integrity of Taiwan and China and recognizes the territory as Chinese. But what does the Kremlin get in return?
China does not recognize annexed Crimea as Russian territory. Instead, the paper contains a single sentence in the right of NATO: “The parties are against the expansion of NATO,” it says only. However, it is not said which countries one does not want to see under NATO patronage.
“Here we see who is the master in this situation”, Vladimir Milov. “For its foreign policy purposes, China does not have to recognize Crimea or other areas annexed by Putin as Russian.” Alexei Navalny’s comrade-in-arms assumes that the paper was drawn up at the Kremlin’s instigation. “The task was to get China to oppose the expansion of the NATO bloc.” The Kremlin wanted to show what powerful allies it could attract against NATO. “But you had to offer something in return.” So the Chinese demand to speak out against independence for Taiwan was complied with.
“It is clear that the Chinese demanded the inclusion of this clause in exchange for signing a declaration against NATO expansion,” Milow said. After all, this is the top priority for the Kremlin at the moment. But the consequences could be serious, the politician fears. “Recently, there have been more and more serious threats against Taiwan, military actions and constant violations of the Taiwanese space by the Chinese army. Against this background, unfortunately, such actions by Russia actually loosen the hands of the Chinese communists for open aggression against Taiwan.”
In return, Moscow did not receive a similar license. “China didn’t want to go into detail by naming specific states. And Moscow didn’t manage to force this game on the Chinese,” concludes Milow.
“It is a very tragic result of all these decades”
And something else escaped the partying Kremlin propagandists. “People already perceive China as a big brother who is coming, will support us politically or militarily and will save us somehow,” Milow said. This way of thinking, which is drummed into Russians by Kremlin propaganda, actually reflects the tragic reality. People are clear: “Without China’s support, it will be difficult to bear all the geopolitical burdens that Putin is shouldering.”
“It is generally a very tragic result of all these decades that Putin’s Russia has become the younger brother and subordinate of a larger Chinese comrade and that Putin generally goes to Beijing to solicit something,” Milow says. “Whether or not China supports him politically or militarily will, in principle, determine whether or not Russia will achieve the goals it has set for itself.”
Many of his compatriots would still see the alliance as a plus. “But there will still be a bitter collision with reality and then comes the realization that dependence on China is not associated with a plus, but with a different sign.”
In fact, a Russian invasion of Ukraine would not be entirely inconvenient for China. For the Chinese leadership, this would be an opportunity to observe from a safe distance what the Western alliance would do in the event of an invasion – in order to draw conclusions for a possible attack on Taiwan.
Source: Stern
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