ISW: Putin failed to agree with Xi Jinping on desired partnership
According to the results of the negotiations with the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping in Moscow, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was unable to secure the closer bilateral partnership with China that he could have hoped for.
Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War came to this conclusion, Censor.NET reports with reference to RBC-Ukraine.
The joint statement of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation "on deepening comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, entering a new era," signed by Putin and Xi on March 21, outlines various bilateral intentions and reaffirms the countries' commitment to each other's state sovereignty and territorial integrity, among other diplomatic promises.
However, the commitments made by Xi and Putin have been notably one-sided, indicating that the Chinese leader is agreeing to a more restrained version of Russia-China relations than Putin likely wants, ISW analysts continue to believe.
Xi praised Putin, reaffirmed China's commitment to Russia in the UN Security Council, and strengthened China's position on a "political settlement" of the war in Ukraine, but he did not follow through on such statements.
"Putin, on the contrary, announced several measures that indicate Russia's continued focus on China and dependence on it in the energy and economic sectors, which seem very one-sided compared to Xi's relatively moderate commitments," experts draw attention.
The Chinese leader has also signaled no intention to support Russia's war against Ukraine, aside from vague diplomatic assurances, likely a step back from what Putin hoped to achieve in the talks, the publication said.
ISW writes that Putin probably did not manage to get exactly the partnership he needs and wants. And Xi, most likely, will leave Moscow having secured "more unilateral guarantees" than Putin assumed.
At the same time, the head of the Kremlin said that the Russian Federation and China had a "very meaningful and frank exchange of views" about the prospects for the further development of Russian-Chinese relations.
"Such rhetoric is clearly lacking in the wording that is usually used in diplomatic speeches to show that both sides have reached final and substantial agreements," ISW noted.
Xi Jinping arrived on a visit to the Russian Federation on March 20. On the same day, he met with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Putin said that Russia respects "China's peace plan" and that many provisions of this plan can be taken as a basis for a peaceful settlement for Ukraine. Jinping responded that Beijing and Moscow have many of the same or similar goals and invited Putin to China.
At the same time, both leaders insist that their countries did not join the military alliance.
The mass media previously reported that after the visit to the Russian Federation, Xi Jinping may hold a virtual meeting with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. On the evening of March 21, the president said that Ukraine does not yet have confirmation of information about this conversation.
