Moscow and Beijing show their proximity to NATO and Taiwan


MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia and China called on NATO to end its expansion in a joint statement on Friday and Moscow voiced support for Beijing’s stance on Taiwan, saying it opposes any form of independence of the island.

This statement, very critical of the United States, was published during an official visit to China by Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the occasion of the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin and his counterpart Xi Jinping had warm and fruitful discussions.

“The Russian side reaffirms its support for the ‘one China’ principle, confirms that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and opposes any form of Taiwanese independence,” the statement said.

The two countries express their concern at “the progress of American projects aimed at developing global missile defense and deploying its elements in different regions of the world, combined with the creation of high-precision non-nuclear weapons capabilities in for disarmament strikes and other strategic purposes”.

They add that they oppose any further expansion of NATO and call on the alliance to abandon its “ideologized Cold War attitudes”.

A promise that Ukraine will never join NATO is one of Russia’s main demands in its current standoff with the West. The United States has rejected Moscow’s main demands but says it is willing to discuss other issues, including arms control.

China has expressed its support for the Russian proposal aimed at achieving guarantees with legal value on security in Europe, the joint statement continues.

The Kremlin said the two presidents also discussed the need to develop trade in local currencies due to uncertainties surrounding the use of the US dollar.

President Joe Biden has raised the possibility of banning Russian companies from carrying out dollar transactions as part of sanctions that Washington could apply in the event of an invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.

Vladimir Putin’s official visit to Beijing was also an opportunity to announce a new gas agreement between the two countries which provides for an increase in gas exports from the Russian Far East.

The Russian state gas group Gazprom has announced that these exports should reach 48 billion cubic meters (m3) per year in 10 billion m3 via a new gas pipeline. According to an industry source, Gazprom has a 30-year contract with China’s CNPC and the first deliveries are expected in two to three years.

(Report Andrew Osborn, French version Marc Angrand, edited by Matthieu Protard and Blandine Hénault)



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