On the 22nd day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some countries now appear capable of influencing each side to obtain serious mediation. This is the case of China, which has also been asked by Russia to come to its military aid. It remains to be seen what China could provide as aid and what the links of this new alignment could be. “The difficulty of the Russians leads them to seek support”, explained the former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dominique de Villepin, on Europe 1.
Can China become Russia’s ally in this war?
This partnership between China and Russia is worrying because no one knows how far Vladimir Putin is ready to go. “China is faced with a major choice”, estimated Dominique de Villepin for whom “the world can be cut in two” or enter into negotiations.
For the former foreign minister, Vladimir Putin faces a double problem for his war effort. On the one hand, it only has “150,000 men on the ground and does not have a lot of additional capacity”. On the other hand, to feed this war effort, “it needs financial support and China is the only main ally and partner”, he detailed.
“We have seen this rapprochement between Russia and China over the past few years and it is undoubtedly one of the failures of Western diplomacy to have allowed such a drift”, deplored Dominique de Villepin. Just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China had supported the idea of a “limitless partnership” with Russia, indicating that an anti-West front could be formed.
A new iron curtain?
The former Prime Minister assures him “the diplomatic stake is not only the stake of the negotiations, it is the stake of the world of tomorrow”. “Are we entering a period where a new iron curtain will fall on the planet with even greater consequences because it will cut the world in two or, on the contrary, are we capable to somehow force history and push China to negotiation and more peaceful relations?” asked Dominique de Villepin.
By the sanctions imposed on Moscow, Paris must show “that there is no future for the strategy which has been chosen”. “Ukraine will not be Russian, Vladimir Putin cannot win this war,” he exclaimed.
Will China blindly provide support? For the moment nothing is certain. Beijing also abstained during the United Nations meeting, “the sign of its strategic embarrassment”, according to the former Prime Minister. For his part, the spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhao Lijian, denied these accusations.