Ukraine’s Ambassador to Beijing Pavel Ryabikin said Russia is gradually turning into China’s “junior partner”. He said this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
According to the Kiev representative, Moscow has ceased to be only a political partner of Beijing. It also took on the role of “source of resources” for Asia’s largest country.
“In fact, relations between Moscow and Beijing are a “marriage of convenience,” in which Russia turns into China’s raw material annex.
At the same time, he added, against the background of what is happening, the Russian authorities are concerned about possible displacement from the “traditional spheres of influence” in Central Asia. Also, according to the ambassador, Moscow is concerned about the “creeping annexation” of many of its territories by China. First of all, we are talking about the Far East, Siberia and the Trans-Baikal Territory.
Finally, Ryabikin stressed that Kiev and Beijing “have something to talk about” in light of the current geopolitical situation. He said that the main topic of discussion should be the resolution of the conflict in Donbass. This is followed by stabilization of the situation and economic cooperation “in Europe and throughout the world”. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the Ukrainian diplomat’s statement.
By the way, the trade turnover between Moscow and Beijing since the beginning of 2023 augmented by 36%. In monetary terms, this figure reached 134.1 billion dollars.
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