China's lukewarm support for Russia likely to benefit Ukraine

BEIJING: The lukewarm support from China has left Russian President Vladimir Putin in a difficult spot as the special military operation, which began in February, approaches the seven-month mark, and it could benefit Ukraine.

China's abstaining on the UN Security Council resolution over the condemnation of referendums could be considered a success by Putin, but the Chinese representative's subsequent statements don't indicate that Beijing would recognize the annexations, Asia Times reported. China's stand on annexation remains ambiguous. It had somehow stopped short of condemning Russia. Still, at the same time, China has not taken a U-turn on its long-established position on the sanctity of the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Earlier, on October 2, China's state-owned Global Times, in its report put the blame for the crisis squarely on the US. But it also said that in the case of nuclear war, no security would be given to anyone, even not for Ukraine.

This report came after the news came out that nuclear weapons could be used by Russia in Ukraine.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently met with the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell. Wang noted China's concerns about the negative spillover effects of the conflict and its support for EU mediation efforts.

Even, a week earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. With his meeting, Xi sent a clear message of China's "strong support to Kazakhstan in protecting its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Kazakhstan is a country with a large ethnic Russian population and justifiable fears of Russian interference but now has the support of the Chinese government, according to Asia Times.

Much like China's abstention from the vote in the UN Security Council, these actions leave a lot of ambiguity in Bejing's position. But if all the actions are taken together then China will definitely fall on another side of the line from Russia as it indicates no nuclear escalation and no recognition of the recent annexations.

This limits Russia's options and explains its desperate move on trying to create a situation which might lead to some negotiable deal with Ukraine.

Beijing's ambiguity also reveals some points of China's game as Putin's loss would also be a defeat for Chinese President Xi who is seeking to secure an unprecedented third term as China's leader at the congress of the Chinese Communist party later this month, reported Asia Times.

China benefits from the increasing asymmetry of its relationship with Russia, with Putin more and more in the role of a junior, rather than equal, partner. This means that the ambiguity in China's position is unlikely to come to an end either any time soon. (ANI)

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