Putin issued a warning to Biden in Beijing: between “Daggers” and pancakes

The Russian President’s visit to Beijing, timed to coincide with the opening of the “One Belt, One Road” forum, has ended. After negotiations with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin returned to the Diaoyutai State Residence and spoke with reporters outdoors.

Putin’s communication with the press did not take place in a very usual format: not in the press center, but right on the lawn in front of a colorful pavilion in the picturesque Diaoyutai park complex, located on the site of the once country palace of the Chinese emperors. Nowadays, this place is used as a state residence for distinguished foreign guests arriving in China.

In the center of the lawn in front of a multicolored building in traditional Chinese style, covered with gold patterns and decorated with mythological creatures, stood a flagpole with the Russian tricolor.

When the president left the building, it was already starting to get dark – negotiations between Putin and Xi Jinping lasted three hours. They spoke, as the head of state said, among other things, about those external factors that influence the development of Russian-Chinese relations, the prospects of which he views with optimism. In particular, a plan for the development of relations between Russia and China, designed until 2030, is being prepared for signing.

Moreover, both Moscow and Beijing are approaching this without hesitation or administrative delays, Putin noted. The president said that the goal was to achieve mutual trade turnover of $200 billion by 2024: “When we formulated this in 2019, I’ll tell you honestly, few people believed that this was even possible.” But, as the Russian President noted during negotiations with Chinese President Xi at the House of the People, this bar can already be considered achieved.

Moreover, according to the president, although our country formally occupies 6th place in the list of Beijing’s trading partners, in fact – if we take Japan and Korea out of brackets – then taking into account trade not only with mainland China, but also with Hong Kong and “the second part” (probably meant the special administrative region of Macau (Macau), or perhaps the island of Taiwan, which the PRC considers its territory), Russia is in second place after the States, but is already ahead of Germany.

A considerable part of the head of state’s communication with the press was devoted to events developing far from the Middle Kingdom: the Middle East and Ukrainian crises.

Vladimir Putin called the attack on a hospital in Gaza a “terrible event”: “Hundreds of dead, hundreds of wounded – this, of course, is a disaster… And I really hope that this tragedy will be a signal that this conflict needs to end. in any case, reduce the matter to the possibility of starting some contacts.”

VVP shared his impression following telephone conversations with regional leaders: none of them wants the conflict to escalate into a big war.

Perhaps the message intended for the leaders of the Middle East region (though not only) were Putin’s words about the prospects for Palestinian statehood: “We have a principled position (it is not related to the current crisis, although, of course, it raises these problems): we have always stood for for the creation of a Palestinian state – independent, sovereign with its capital in East Jerusalem.”

There was also a signal sent to Washington’s ears. Putin issued a warning to the Americans, who “dragged” two aircraft carrier groups into the Mediterranean: “This is not a threat – what I am now announcing, but on my instructions, the Russian Aerospace Forces are starting patrols on a permanent basis in the neutral zone.” The President especially mentioned that the corresponding forces will be armed with Kinzhal complexes.

The topic of Ukraine was also raised at the impromptu press conference, the president of which boasted about ATACMS long-range missiles received from Washington. “This, of course, causes harm and creates an additional threat,” Vladimir Putin admitted. “We, of course, will be able to repel them.” But the most important thing, he said, is that these missiles cannot change the situation in the conflict zone.

“This is another mistake on the part of the United States,” the president emphasized, noting that the United States is increasingly drawn into the Ukrainian crisis.

And there is nothing good in this for Ukraine either: “It just prolongs the agony.” Developing this topic, Putin noted the failures of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in attempting a counter-offensive in the Kherson direction (and in others too): “There is no result. There are losses, but there is no result.”

True, President Biden, living in his own reality, insists that Russia has already “lost” in Ukraine – and at the same time speaks of the need to unite Europe against Moscow.

“If the war is lost by Russia, then why supply ATACMS? – President Putin retorted. – Then let him take ATACMS, other weapons and sit down for pancakes. Let him come to us for tea. If the war is lost, then why do this?… Ridiculous! “