Should we Trust China's 'Peace Plan' for Ukraine?
In the wake of Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing, Paul Niland asks who China's intervention in the Ukraine conflict is really designed to benefit
After the coronation of Vladimir Putin to the fifth, and most illegitimate, term of his presidency, his first foreign trip has been to visit his Chinese counterpart. This is hardly surprising as few other countries would be willing to host the Pariah from the Kremlin, and many would certainly act on the international arrest warrant for the man who has been at Russia’s helm since 2000.
The summit between Putin and Xi was meant to show that Russia is not isolated, and Putin has friends. For whom this is an appealing message it is hard to understand, but as the phrase goes, beggars can’t be choosers and Putin has already exhausted the number of times he can demonstrate that fellow illegitimate authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko is on his side.
One of the outcomes of the Beijing summit has been to press for “peace” in Ukraine on the basis of a formula being proposed by the Chinese.
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