China hogs limelight as Russia-Ukraine War enters key phase
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, February 21: With Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing suspension of Russia’s participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) on Tuesday, all eyes are now on China as war in Ukraine approaches anniversary on Friday. Russia and the US are now without any platform of joint stakes, as fears rise in the strategic affairs circle of an impending spike in tension between the two super powers.
While US President Joe Biden made a show of solidarity by flying into Kyiv on Monday, Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi was with Putin on Tuesday. The Chinese diplomat arrived in Moscow after the top US officials, which included Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, issuing pointed threats to Beijing in the event the Xi Jinping decided to provide lethal arms to Russia, at the Munich security conference.
The US-led NATO by all accounts would continue to arm the Ukrainian military to wrest back the areas currently occupied by the Russian forces, while Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zalenskyy is striking the maximalist position by speaking of taking back Russia-controlled Crimea. India’s former foreign secretary Shyam Sharan in an opinion piece has commented that a tired Europe may bank on China to find a way out of the Russia-Ukraine War.
Former foreign secretary Shashank has maintained for a long time in conversation with The Raisina Hills that it’s for Europe to end the Russia-Ukraine War, as it risks going the Iran-Iraq War way, which had lasted for several years. In this backdrop, Wang’s whirlwind tour of Europe during which he was seen in several capitals becomes interesting, for he certainly must have been carrying the message of Xi.
Even while the US has stepped up pressure on China to ensure that Beijing doesn’t arm Moscow in its war with Ukraine, Xi has refrained from acting on the literal meaning of the ‘No Limits Friendship’ with Russia. China has stayed away from even the remote hints of supplying arms or ammunitions to Russia to ensure that the US doesn’t act with vehemence. For Xi, it’s of utmost importance that the war-cry of the western nations to de-couple with China on the supply chains is decelerated. Xi may not give any alibi to Biden to accelerate Chinese isolation in the global order even while Beijing would seek to bargain that the US also ceases arming Taiwan as a barter even while the chances of its success may be remote.
About The Author
