AS the two countries come closer together in the face of Western pressure, China has joined Russia in opposing further Nato expansion.
During Russia’s Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing for the Winter Olympics, the two countries issued a statement highlighting their agreement on a number of issues.
Moscow stated that it supported China’s stance on Taiwan and opposed the island’s independence.
It comes at a time when the situation in Ukraine is tense and Russia denies any intention of invading.
Putin and China’s Xi Jinping are meeting ahead of the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony.
The leaders’ conversations were “very warm” and constructive, according to the Kremlin.
In a lengthy joint statement, the two countries accuse Nato of advocating a Cold War ideology and express alarm over the Aukus security pact between the US, the UK, and Australia.
Meanwhile, Russia stated its support for Beijing’s One China policy, which states that Taiwan is a breakaway province that will reintegrate with China again in the future.
Taiwan, on the other hand, perceives itself as an independent country with its own constitution and democratically elected leaders.
According to a Kremlin translation, the statement reads,”There are no forbidden areas of cooperation,”
The Russian-Chinese declaration, however, makes no mention of Ukraine, which has become a source of increasing conflict between Russia and the West.
In the midst of a mounting verbal battle, the US accused Russia on Wednesday of trying to create a phony Ukrainian strike to justify an invasion.
According to the report, Moscow is planning to release a graphic video depicting the attack on Russian territory or Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine.
Russia denied it was planning to fabricate an attack, and the US did not provide evidence to support the claim.
The alleged plot was revealed a day after the US announced it would send additional troops to eastern Europe to support the Nato defensive alliance.
Russia called the move “destructive” and said it confirmed its concerns about Nato’s eastward expansion.
