Beijing: Senior Russian official Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday told China’s foreign minister Wang Yi their two countries’ most urgent task should be countering “containment” by the United States, as they met for security talks in Beijing.
Moscow and Beijing have expanded military and defense ties since Russia ordered troops into Ukraine nearly three years ago, with Chinese President Xi Jinping one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most important allies on the world stage.
But Beijing has also found itself increasingly stuck between a burgeoning alliance of Russia and North Korea, which has sent soldiers to Ukraine and this week ratified a landmark defense pact with Moscow.
Speaking to Wang in Beijing, Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, stressed the need for China and Russia to “counter the ‘dual containment’ policy directed against Russia and China by the United States and its satellites.”
“The comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation (between China and Russia) represent a model of collaboration between two powers in today’s world,” Shoigu told China’s top diplomat.
“Although it is not a military-political alliance like those formed during the Cold War, the relations between our countries surpass this form of interstate relations,” he said, quoted in Russian news agencies.
Ahead of the talks, Beijing said the two officials would hold “strategic security consultations” this week and would discuss “major issues involving the two countries’ strategic security interests and enhancing mutual trust.”
Shoigu was Russia’s defense minister for the first two years of its offensive on Ukraine, before being moved to the Security Council by Putin after a string of military setbacks and criticism from the country’s influential military correspondents.
Shoigu is also expected to attend this week’s Airshow China, which showcases Beijing’s civil and military aerospace sector every two years in the southern city of Zhuhai.
Russia’s most advanced jet, the Su-57 stealth fighter, will make a display flight at the show.
China presents itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.
But it remains a close political and economic ally of Russia and NATO members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war, which it has never condemned.
Last month, the two countries’ defense ministers pledged to deepen bilateral military cooperation.
China, Russia must fight US ‘containment’: security chief
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China, Russia must fight US ‘containment’: security chief
- Moscow and Beijing have expanded military and defense ties since Russia ordered troops into Ukraine nearly three years ago
Russia says Ukraine attacked Putin’s home, Kyiv calls this ‘lie’
- Zelensky called Russia’s claim “complete fabrication” designed to derail peace process, suggested Moscow was preparing to intensify bombardment of Ukraine
KYIV: Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of having fired dozens of drones at one of President Vladimir Putin’s homes, an accusation that Ukraine called a “lie” aimed at undermining US-led efforts to end the war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who does not typically announce drone strikes, said Ukraine had fired “91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles” at Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region between late Sunday and early Monday, all of which were shot down.
“Given the complete degeneration of the criminal Kyiv regime, which has shifted to a policy of state terrorism, Russia’s negotiating position will be reconsidered,” Lavrov said, without elaborating.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with US President Donald Trump on Sunday for talks on ending the war, called Russia’s claim “a complete fabrication” designed to derail the peace process and suggested Moscow was preparing to intensify its bombardment of Ukraine.
“Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump’s team,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on X.
Russia’s accusation comes at a pivotal moment in the peace process.
Ukraine says it has agreed to 90 percent of a US-drafted peace plan — including the issue of post-war security guarantees — though the issue of territory in a post-war settlement remains unresolved.
Russia, which has stayed silent about what parts of the US plan it has agreed to, said Monday it was still committed to the peace process but would “revise” its position in light of the alleged drone attack.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a “special military operation” to demilitarise the country and prevent the expansion of NATO.
Kyiv and its European allies say the war, the largest and deadliest on European soil since World War II, is an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has resulted in a tidal wave of violence and destruction.
Territory main sticking point
Trump has held talks with both sides in recent days, including a phone call with Putin on Monday that the White House described as “positive.”
During talks with Zelensky on Sunday, Trump offered Kyiv long-sought-after security guarantees for a period of 15 years, according to Kyiv.
But the issue of territory and the future of the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine remain unresolved, Zelensky said.
Zelensky said Monday that Kyiv was ready for “any” format of meetings — including with Putin if necessary — but said he still did not think the Kremlin chief wanted peace.
The current plan, revised after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and establish a demilitarised area.
But the Kremlin has shown no sign of compromise.
Putin said Monday that Russia was pressing ahead with its plan to capture four Ukrainian regions it announced the annexation of in 2022 and that his troops were “confidently advancing.”
Moscow on Monday said it took another village, Dibrova, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
