Russia in Review, March 17-24, 2023
4 Things to Know
- Xi’s three-day visit to Moscow this week has reaffirmed Beijing’s desire to strengthen its “undeclared alliance” with Moscow. In his commentary for Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Xi described Russia and China as “strategic partners” and celebrated “eternal friendship” between the two countries. In his turn, Putin wrote in China’s People’s Daily Newspaper that bilateral relations “surpass Cold War-time military-political alliances in their quality ... without limitations.” The two leaders signed two joint statements, including one on “Deepening relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction entering a new era” that proclaimed “relations between Russia and China, while not being a military-political alliance ... are superior to this form of interstate interaction” and called for more joint military patrols. The two leaders have also reportedly discussed military cooperation as well as China’s Ukraine peace plan. The latter is “consonant with Russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement,” Putin said. While overseeing the adoption of 12 documents with Putin, including one on fast-neutron reactors, Xi chose not to finalize the deal to build the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which Putin has pushed for. Xi’s visit has proved that China’s and Russia’s is “the most consequential undeclared alliance in the world,” according to Graham Allison of Harvard.
- The ICC’s arrest warrant creates headaches for Putin’s staff and hosts. The warrant has prompted top Russian officials to threaten a missile strike at the court’s Hauge offices and to investigate ICC personnel. Meanwhile sources close to the administration of the Russian president told Meduza that the Kremlin so far does not quite understand how to “ensure the safety” of the president during his visits abroad. India, which is to host this year’s G-20 summit in September, has not signed the Rome Statute, so it doesn’t recognize ICC warrants. Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, which are to host this year’s CIS and CSTO summits, respectively, in the 4th quarter, do not recognize the ICC either. Nor does China, whose leader Xi has invited to Putin to visit this year. However, South Africa, which is to host a BRICS summit in August, does recognize the ICC, and its government is now seeking legal advice on how to handle the warrant if Putin attends the gathering. Biden and his secretary of state Blinken have both called for enforcement of the warrant even though the U.S. also doesn’t recognize the ICC.
- Russian forces brace for Ukrainian counter-offensives. Russian officials this week appeared to be increasingly trying to prepare their public for a looming offensive by Ukraine, NYT reported. “They are preparing for various offensive operations—everyone knows that,” Dmitri Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Putin’s Security Council, said. In his turn head Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose PMC Wagner is trying to seize the Donetsk region town of Bakhmut, said that Russia needed to prepare for multiple counteroffensives by Ukraine, noting that the ground will soon become dry enough for large-scale armored maneuvers. The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces has indicated that his forces may launch a counter-offensive in the Bakhmut area “very soon,” while U.S. officials have estimated that a broader Ukrainian counteroffensive will begin by May.
- There are currently no nuclear arms talks between the U.S. and Russia even though the threat of a nuclear war is the highest it has been in many years, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. “I wouldn’t want to dive into a discussion about whether the likelihood of a nuclear conflict is high today, but it is higher than anything we have had for the past few decades,” Ryabkov said, adding that the Kremlin sees no point in resuming talks with the U.S. on New START. Even if the Kremlin hasn't essentially killed the New START treaty by 2026, the chances of the U.S. Congress agreeing to a replacement that doesn't take account of China's nuclear advances is "essentially zero," according to Matthew Kroenig of the Atlantic Council. While refusing to have his diplomats discuss New START with their U.S. counterparts, Putin adopted a statement this week with Xi, in which they reiterated the P5’s statement on the inadmissibility of a nuclear war even as his deputy at the Security Council repeatedly threatened use of nuclear weapons this week.
I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda
Nuclear security and safety:
- The Zaporizhzhia NPP could soon be plunged into a blackout for the seventh time as conditions at the facility continue to deteriorate, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has warned. Rafael Grossi, director general of the IAEA, said the plant’s reduced staffing levels along with the “psychological stress from the ongoing military conflict” could lead to catastrophe. (NYT, 03.23.23)
- The IAEA reported that Rosatom may be working to restore three power lines at the Zaporizhzhia NPP which would increase Russian control over this plant. (ISW, 03.23.23)
- Russia delivered enriched uranium to France. Greenpeace said the delivery confirmed France's dependence on the Russian nuclear industry, which is not covered by sanctions slapped on the Kremlin. France had received "a third of the enriched uranium needed to operate French nuclear power plants for one year" from Russia, Greenpeace said. (MT/AFP, 03.20.23)
North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs:
- The United States has accused China and Russia of shielding North Korea from any action by the U.N. Security Council for its unprecedented spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches, which violate multiple U.N. resolutions and jeopardize international aviation and maritime safety. (AP, 03.21.23)
Iran and its nuclear program:
- The joint statement on comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, which Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed during the second day of their talks in Moscow on March 21 says: “The Parties reaffirm the importance of promptly resuming the full and effective implementation of the Agreement on the Iranian Nuclear Program and U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231.” (RM, 03.22.23)
- Russia remains fully involved in the work on JCPOA and calls for refraining from sensationalizing meetings of the parties to the deal in any formats, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. (Interfax, 03.22.23)
- Russia has become the largest foreign investor in Iran over the past year. Ehsan Khandouzi, Iran’s finance minister, said Russia had invested $2.76 billion in the country during the current financial year that ended this week, accounting for two-thirds of the total foreign direct investment of about $4.2 billion. (FT, 03.23.23)
Humanitarian impact of the Ukraine conflict:
- The United Nations said March 24 it was “deeply concerned” by what it said were summary executions of prisoners of war by both Russian and Ukrainian forces on the battlefield. (AFP, 03.24.23)
- A Russian strike on the town of Kostyantynivka in the eastern region of Donetsk killed at least five people on March 24, Ukraine's emergency service reported. (RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of "bestial cruelty” after wo Russian missiles hit a high-rise building in Zaporizhzhia. At least 18 people, including two children, were wounded in the strike. (RFE/RL, 03.22.23)
- From a prewar population of 70,000, fewer than 3,500 civilians remain in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after eight months of Russian attacks aimed at capturing it, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the Ukrainian governor of the surrounding Donetsk Province. (NYT, 03.24.23)
- The legislative body of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on March 22 that it regretted "threats" against the tribunal over its war crimes arrest warrant for Putin. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev talked about targeting The Hague with a hypersonic missile, while Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into ICC prosecutor Karim Khan and several judges over the "unlawful" decision to seek Putin's arrest over the alleged deportation of Ukrainian children. (AFP, 03.22.23)
- The ICC and Ukraine have agreed to open a field office in the country to facilitate investigations into war crimes and other potential violations of international law in the midst of Russia’s invasion. (NYT, 03.24.23)
- Two sources close to the administration of the Russian president said that the Kremlin so far does not quite understand how to “ensure the safety” of the president during his visits abroad following the ICC’s issue of an arrest warrant for him. “Even the CIS is no longer a safe space [for Putin],” one of the sources stated. Tajikistan is among the countries that ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC. (Meduza, 03.21.23)
- U.S. President Joe Biden has said the ICC decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes is "justified." "He's clearly committed war crimes," Biden said. (RFE/RL, 03.18.23)
- European countries should detain Putin and turn him over to the ICC if the Russian president visits their countries, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. (WP, 03.23.23)
- Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, told a press conference in Beijing that the ICC should "take an objective and just position" and "respect the jurisdictional immunity of ahead of state under international law." (Newsweek, 03.20.23)
- South Africa is aware of its legal obligation, a spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa said, referring to a proposed visit by Putin after the ICC warrant. Putin has been expected to visit South Africa in August to attend a BRICS summit. South Africa’s government is taking legal advice on how to handle the warrant in the event the Russian leader attends the summit. (Bloomberg, 03.24.23, Reuters, 03.19.23)
- The decision about Putin’s trip to the BRICS summit in South Africa hasn’t been made yet, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters March 24. (TASS, 03.24.23)
- The ICC warrant for Putin isn’t binding in Hungary, Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas said. Hungary hasn’t made official a part of the ICC’s statutes that would make such an arrest warrant binding, Gulyas said. (Bloomberg, 03.23.23)
- Serbian President Alexander Vucic has criticized the ICC warrant for Putin, saying the warrant will prolong the war in Ukraine. (RFE/RL, 03.19.23)
- In a highly symbolic move days after the ICC warrant for Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Bucha in Ukraine. "The world was astonished to see innocent civilians in Bucha killed one year ago," Kishida said. (WP, 03.22.23)
- An international conference in London has raised 4 million pounds ($4.9 million) to support the ICC in its investigations into alleged war crimes in Ukraine. (RFE/RL, 03.21.23, AP, 03.20.23)
- Rebuilding Ukraine after one year of Russia’s war will cost $411 billion, with the conflict’s cost growing as it continues, the World Bank said in a report released March 23. (NYT, 03.23.23)
- The IMF has struck a deal with Ukraine to provide a $15.6 billion loan. The IMF said the program would unfold in two stages, with the first 12 to 18 months devoted to building “fiscal, external, price and financial stability.” (FT, 03.21.23)
- A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain to world markets by ship despite Russia’s blockade of the Black Sea has been extended. Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister responsible for infrastructure, said in the agreement had been extended for 120 days. However, Moscow indicated it had only agreed to a 60-day extension. (FT, 03.19.23)
- For the first time in its history, Canada grew by over one million people last year and most of them were newcomers. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was one of the factors driving a net increase in each province of nonpermanent residents. (NYT, 03.24.23)
Military aspects of the Ukraine conflict and their impacts:
- In the past month of fighting Russian forces have gained 42 square miles of Ukrainian territory, according to the Russia-Ukraine War Report Card. (Belfer Russia-Ukraine War Task Force, 03.22.23)
- Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, said on March 23 that Russian forces were “not giving up hope of taking Bakhmut at any cost,” although he said he saw signs that fighters from the Wagner group there were “losing significant strength and becoming exhausted.” Syrsky indicated that his forces may launch a counter-offensive in the Bakhmut area “very soon.” (Guardian, 03.24.23, NYT, 03.24.23)
- Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group, said that Russia needed to prepare for multiple counteroffensives by Ukraine, noting that the ground will soon become dry enough for armored maneuvers by Ukraine. He claimed that Ukraine has 200,000 reserves concentrating to attack along the entire eastern frontline, into Belgorod Oblast, and in Bakhmut. Prigozhin also claimed that the Ukrainians currently have 80,000 troops in Bakhmut, Slovyansk and Kostyantynivka to counterattack Bakhmut. (NYT, 03.24.23, ISW, 03.23.23, RM, 03.24.23)
- Prigozhin seemed to question one of Putin’s stated reasons for going to war: the false claim that Ukraine was run by “Nazis.” “I don’t know about the denazification of Ukraine,” Prigozhin said. “Are there Nazis there, or aren’t there? I haven’t crawled around in there.” (NYT, 03.24.23)
- Pirogzhin rejected a report saying he plans to scale back his military operations in Ukraine and instead concentrate on Africa. (RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
- The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 16 attack drones early on March 18 and that 11 had been shot down by Ukrainian air-defense systems in the central, western and eastern regions. (RFE/RL, 03.18.23)
- The Russian strategy is enforced by anti-retreat units, Ukrainian commanders claim. Ukrainian commanders said they had heard such orders from Russian commanders on phone intercept. (NYT, 03.19.23)
- A Russian OSINT project, known as Conflict Intelligence Team, has acquired photos of a train carrying Soviet medium tanks of the T-54/55 family in the Far East. OSINT believes the tanks might be shipped for participation in combat in Ukraine. (RM, 03.22.23)
- The Russian navy "repelled" a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea early on March 22, the Kremlin-backed governor of the city said. (MT/AFP, 03.22.23)
- Russian officials appear to be trying increasingly to prepare their own public for a looming offensive by Ukraine. Medvedev said in comments released on March 24 that the military was getting ready for Ukraine to go on the attack. “They are preparing for various offensive operations—everyone knows that,” Medvedev said. “Our General Staff is taking this into account and preparing its solutions.” (NYT, 03.24.23)
- Zelensky visited frontline positions near Bakhmut on March 22. Zelensky then on March 23 visited the partially occupied southern region of Kherson. (RFE/RL, 03.23.23, Bloomberg, 03.22.23)
- After a year of war, Ukraine is facing increasing challenges in raising the troops it needs to resist Russian forces and eject them from its territory. Ukrainian authorities say 66,374 men exited the country in 2022 using documents that allow volunteers and humanitarian-aid workers to leave, provided they come back within a specified period. More than 9,300 of them haven't returned, the figures show. (WSJ, 03.23.23)
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reassured members of Congress that the billions of dollars already approved for Ukraine should last for much of 2023. Congress passed a spending bill in December that included $45 billion in new emergency aid for Ukraine. Blinken, testifying on March 23 before the House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee, would not say exactly when the administration might need to ask for more funds but said the recent funding "carries us through much of this year." (RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
- The Pentagon, in a significant shift, said March 21 that it will send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine by the fall, after facing scrutiny for initially saying it could take a year or two to procure the powerful weapons and get them to the battlefield. (WP, 03.22.23)
- Several dozen Ukrainian soldiers are wrapping up their training in Oklahoma on the Patriot missile system and within a few weeks will deploy to the war’s front lines, armed with America’s most advanced ground-based air defense to help protect against Russian missile attacks. (NYT, 03.23.23)
- Slovakia has handed four of its Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets over to Ukraine, the country’s Defense Minister Jaro Nad said in a Facebook post March 23. (CNN, 03.23.23)
- The EU plans to spend as much as €500 million ($544 million) to support ammunition producers through the bloc’s budget. The funds would come on top of the €2 billion agreed by foreign and defense ministers earlier this week as the EU aims to provide Ukraine with 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition within the next 12 months. (Bloomberg, 03.23.23, AP, 03.23.23)
- On a call with EU leaders Zelensky asked for “no more delays” to the delivery of long-range missiles and modern fighter jets and the implementation of a peace plan, without referring to Beijing’s initiative, according to an EU official. (FT, 03.23.23)
- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on March 23 objected to the delivery to Ukraine of ammunition that Bulgaria sells to other European Union states. (RFE/RL, 03.23.23)
- “It became known that Great Britain ... announced not only the supply of tanks to Ukraine, but also shells with depleted uranium ... if all this happens, then Russia will be forced to respond accordingly [as] the collective West is already starting to use weapons with a nuclear component,” Putin said in his statement for the press after negotiating and signing statements with Xi. (RM, 03.22.23)
- Britain's government has confirmed that it would provide Ukraine with armor-piercing shells that contain depleted uranium, alongside its Challenger 2 tanks, which use them. Depleted uranium is a standard component in conventional anti-armor weapons that NATO countries have used for decades, and Britain said in a statement that the ammunition it was providing had nothing to do with nuclear weapons. (NYT, 03.23.23)
Punitive measures related to Russia’s war against Ukraine and their impact globally:
- Hungary has begun talks with France over an increased role in its nuclear program, which may eventually lead to replacing Russia at its only atomic power plant. Framatome, France’s state-owned nuclear reactor maker, is now a subcontractor to Rosatom in Hungary, tasked to deliver the control systems to the plant, together with Germany’s Siemens. (FT, 03.23.23)
- Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS Group AG are among banks under scrutiny in a U.S. Justice Department probe into whether financial professionals helped Russian oligarchs evade sanctions, according to people familiar with the matter. The Swiss banks were included in a recent wave of subpoenas sent out by the U.S. government, the people said. (Bloomberg, 03.23.23)
- A Russian businessman wanted in the U.S. for alleged money-laundering and sanctions evasion has escaped from house arrest in Italy, a day after an Italian court approved his extradition. Artem Uss, the son of the governor of the Russian province of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, slipped out of his home in the small town of Basiglio near Milan on March 22 afternoon despite the use of an electronic tag to monitor him. (FT, 03.24.23)
- Spain, the biggest European buyer of liquefied natural gas from Russia, is urging importers not to sign new contracts with Moscow as it seeks to cut ties following the invasion of Ukraine. (Bloomberg, 03.24.23)
- Zelensky has announced sanctions against hundreds of individuals and companies, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iranians associated with the production of Shahed drones. (RFE/RL, 03.19.23)
- A court in Ukraine has frozen the assets of Oksana Marchenko, the wife of pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. (RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
- Kazakhstan is to monitor goods that pass through the country for re-export, tracking them until they reach their final destination amid a drive by Western capitals to prevent foreign companies and individuals from helping Russia circumvent sanctions. (FT, 03.23.23)
- Volkswagen AG’s planned sale of two Russian units is on hold after sanctioned billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s GAZ Group won a court order to freeze the German carmaker’s non-cash assets. The decision by a court in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region came in response to GAZ Group’s lawsuit seeking to recover 15.6 billion rubles ($203 million) in damages from Volkswagen over the termination of an assembly contract, according to court documents dated March 17. (Bloomberg, 03.20.23)
- The French home improvement retailer Leroy Merlin will transfer control of its stores in Russia to local management, parent company ADEO announced March 24. ADEO said its decision to cede control of 143 Leroy Merlin stores to Russian management was aimed at preserving 45,000 local jobs. (MT/AFP, 03.24.23)
- Russia's economy will have finished adapting to Western sanctions by 2024, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told the State Duma on March 23. (MT/AFP, 03.23.23)
- Russia has declared the Institute for Statecraft of Great Britain an "undesirable" organization amid an ongoing crackdown on international and domestic NGOs, civil society and independent journalists. (RFE/RL, 03.20.23)
- World Athletics said on March 23 that athletes from Russia and Belarus would remain prohibited from competition, including qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris next year, as part of sanctions for the war in Ukraine. (FT, 03.23.23)
Ukraine-related negotiations:
- The joint statement on comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction that Putin and Xi signed on March 21 reads: “The Russian side positively assesses the objective and unbiased position of the Chinese side on the Ukrainian issue. ... The Chinese side positively assesses the readiness of the Russian side to make efforts to restart the peace talks as soon as possible. Russia welcomes China's readiness to play a positive role in the politico-diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and the constructive considerations set forth in the document ... ‘On China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukrainian Crisis.’ The parties note that in order to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, it is necessary to respect the legitimate concerns of all countries in the field of security and prevent the formation of bloc confrontation, stop actions that further fuel the conflict.” (RM, 03.22.23)
- “I would like to emphasize that on the Ukrainian settlement, we are steadily guided by the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, adhere to an objective and impartial position and actively promote reconciliation and the restoration of negotiations. ... We are always for peace and dialogue, we stand firmly on the right side of history,” Xi said in his March 21 statement1 for the press after negotiating and signing statements with Putin. (RM, 03.22.23)
- On the first day of Xi’s March 20-22 visit to Russia, Putin told Xi he had “acquainted himself in detail” with China’s peace proposal, which he commended for following “principles of fairness.” “We did not ignore the situation around Ukraine. We believe that many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are consonant with Russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when they are ready for it in the West and in Kyiv,” Putin said in his statement for the press after negotiating with Xi on March 21. (FT, 03.20.23, Bloomberg, 03.22.23, RM, 03.22.23)
-
- Putin and Xi did not discuss Kyiv’s peace formula on the Ukrainian settlement during talks in Moscow, Peskov said March 22. (TASS, 03.22.23) See sections “China-Russia: Allied or aligned?” and “Nuclear arms” for more details of the Xi-Putin summit.
- China’s top diplomat Wang Yi urged Europe to play a role in supporting peace talks for Russia’s war in Ukraine. “China looks forward to France and other European countries to also play their due role,” Wang told Emmanuel Bonne, a diplomatic advisor to the French president on March 23. “A cease-fire, stopping the war, resuming peace talks and a political settlement of the crisis should become the strategic consensus between China and Europe,” Wang said. (Bloomberg, 03.24.23)
- The U.S. said China’s peace plan for Ukraine amounts to “the ratification of Russian conquest” by calling for a ceasefire that would codify Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory and give Moscow time to replenish its depleted forces. The U.S. and its allies believe that China’s peace plan would allow Putin to “freeze” Russia’s territorial gains, with Blinken saying the “world should not be fooled.” (FT, 03.20.23, Bloomberg, 03.23.23)
- Ukraine has avoided criticizing China’s peace plan ahead of an expected call between Xi and Zelensky following the Chinese leader’s trip to Russia. Ukraine is pressing for telephone talks between Zelensky and Xi, according to Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky. (NYT, 03.24.23, FT, 03.20.23)
- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will propose a “peace club” with China to mediate an end to the conflict in Ukraine when he travels to Beijing this week to meet Xi. Lula said earlier this year he would promote the idea of a group of mediating countries, saying “it is time for China to get its hands dirty.” (FT, 03.24.23)
- Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez will discuss Xi’s attempt to broker peace talks in Ukraine during an official visit to Beijing next week. (FT, 03.23.23)
Great Power rivalry/new Cold War/NATO-Russia relations:
- The U.S., U.K. and Poland are in line with NATO’s target to spend 2% of countries’ wealth on defense spending, along with Estonia, Greece and Latvia. The new entry is Lithuania, according to spending estimates in NATO’s 2022 annual report published March 21. The total is up from three members of the 30-member alliance when the pledge was agreed in 2014. (Bloomberg, 03.21.23)
- The United States Army on March 21 opened its first permanent garrison in the eastern fringe of Europe, establishing a small but symbolically important military headquarters in Poland. (NYT, 03.21.23)
- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto signed the law that allows Russia’s neighbor to join NATO once its missing ratifications—from Hungary and Turkey—are completed in the coming weeks. (Bloomberg, 03.23.23)
- Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on March 23 that he would seek an explanation from Hungary as to why its parliament is delaying ratification of Sweden's NATO bid but not Finland's. (AFP, 03.23.23)
- The U.S. will send aging A-10 attack planes to swap for more advanced combat aircraft in the Middle East as part of a Pentagon effort to shift more modern fighters to the Pacific and Europe to deter China and Russia, U.S. officials said. (WSJ, 03.23.23)
- Putin said March 20 that deepening ties between Russia and Africa was a key goal for the Kremlin. "Let me emphasize that our country has always given—and will continue to give—priority to cooperation with African states," Putin said in a televised address at a conference on Russian-African relations. (MT/AFP, 03.20.23)
- The United States recently warned Chad's president that Russian mercenaries were plotting to kill him. The decision by the U.S. government to share sensitive intelligence with the head of an African state—a disclosure it then leaked—reveals one way in which the Biden administration is moving more assertively in Africa and using new tactics to stymie Russian gains on the continent. (NYT, 03.19.23)
- The West seeks to destabilize the political situation in Russia and tear the country apart, Medvedev said. "Do they need a country with a vast territory and the strongest nuclear shield, which also does not obey the Americans? They don’t need it at all," Medvedev said. (TASS, 03.23.23)
China-Russia: Allied or aligned?
- On the first day of Xi’s March 20-22 visit to Russia, Putin and Xi published commentaries and held informal talks:
- In his March 20 commentary for China’s People’s Daily Newspaper, Putin proclaimed that Russia-China relations “surpass Cold War-time military-political alliances in their quality, with no one to constantly order and no one to constantly obey, without limitations.” Putin then stated at a state dinner with Xi that “I believe that Russian-Chinese cooperation has truly limitless possibilities and potential.” In doing so, Putin alluded to the language of the joint statement he and Xi had adopted less than three weeks before his Feb. 24, 2022, invasion into Ukraine and which said that “friendship between the two States has no limits.” In contrast to Putin, Xi did not make any explicit references to “no limits” in his March 20, 2023, commentary for Rossiiskaya Gazeta, though he did describe Russia and China as “strategic partners [engaged in] comprehensive cooperation,” celebrating “eternal friendship” between the two countries. The declaration on “Deepening relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction entering a new era,” which Putin and Xi signed on March 21, did not contain any explicit references to “no limits” either. (RM, 03.21.23)
- Xi emphasized that Russia was the first country he had visited after being reappointed president for an unprecedented third term this month. Referring to next year’s Russian elections, he said he was “certain that the Russian people will continue to firmly support [Putin].” (FT, 03.20.23)
- Putin told Xi: “Over the last few years, China has made a colossal leap forward in its development. This arouses genuine interest all over the world and we are even a bit jealous of you.” China’s political and economic system is “much more efficient than in many other countries”, Putin added, because “it combines market mechanism with a fairly confident political course.” (FT, 03.20.23)
- On the second day of Xi’s March 20-22 visit to Moscow,Xi and Putin—who have met more than 49 times—held official talks and signed two joint statements and issued statements to the press. (All in all, Russian and Chinese delegations signed 12 documents during Xi’s visit, according to the Kremlin).
- The joint statement on “Deepening relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction entering a new era” says:2
- “Relations between Russia and China, while not being a military-political alliance similar to those formed during the Cold War, are superior to this form of interstate interaction, are not bloc and confrontational in nature, and are not directed against third countries.
- The Parties will regularly conduct joint maritime and airborne patrols and joint exercises.
- The Parties stand for an objective, unbiased, professional investigation into the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
- The parties intend to develop cooperation within the Russia-India-China and Russia-China-Mongolia formats.
- The Parties express serious concern about the implications and risks for strategic stability in the Asia-Pacific region due to the establishment of AUKUS.
- The Parties insist that NATO strictly comply with the obligations relating to the regional and defensive character of said organization.
- The Parties note the positive contribution of the Collective Security Treaty Organization to ensuring regional security.
- The Parties will strengthen contacts and coordination on issues related to African states.
- The Parties stand for the preservation of the Arctic as a territory of peace, stability and constructive cooperation.”
- The joint statement on “Developing of key areas of Russian-Chinese economic cooperation until 2030” says the two sides plan:3
- To “scale up and optimize the structure of trade, including through the development of e-commerce and other innovative tools.
- Comprehensive development of an interconnected logistics system.
- Increasing the level of financial cooperation, including by expanding, in accordance with market needs, the practice of using national currencies and progressively increasing their share in bilateral trade, investment, lending and other areas of trade and economic cooperation.
- Strengthening the comprehensive partnership in the energy sector.
- Ensuring ... a mutually beneficial supply based on market principles in basic goods and minerals, including metals, chemical fertilizers and chemical products.
- Promotion of exchanges and qualitative expansion of cooperation in the fields of technology and innovation in order to ensure the technological leadership of Russia and China.
- Achieving a higher quality level of industrial cooperation.
- A significant increase in the level of cooperation in agriculture.”
- During his talks Xi didn’t give Putin an explicit agreement or even a nod to minimal progress on the bellwether Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline while Putin said after the talks that the new pipeline was discussed and “almost all” parameters of a deal agreed. (Bloomberg, 03.22.23)
- Alexander Novak, Russia’s top energy official, said the Kremlin hoped to sign the Power of Siberia 2 agreement later this year. (FT, 03.21.23)
- Putin and Xi announced a long-term deal to continue developing so-called fast-neutron reactors. The announcement came among a raft of agreements presented during the second day of Xi’s visit. In December, the Kremlin-controlled nuclear giant Rosatom finished transferring 25 tons of highly-enriched uranium to China’s first fast reactor, the CFR-600—a facility which analysts say could produce fuel for some 50 nuclear warheads a year. (Bloomberg, 03.23.23, RM, 03.23.23)
- Putin issued a statement to the press following official talks with Xi that said: “Russian-Chinese relations are at the highest level of development in history, they are an example of a true comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction.” The statement also said that Russian-Chinese trade grew by 30% last year, setting a new record of over $185 billion. Further growth in Russian gas exports to China will be facilitated by the implementation of the intergovernmental agreement concluded in January on laying the Far Eastern gas route, as well as the implementation of the initiative to build Power of Siberia 2, Putin’s statement said. (RM, 03.22.23)
- Xi issued his own statement4 to the press, which said: “We had very frank, friendly and productive talks. ... Sino-Russian ties have gone far beyond bilateral relations and are of vital importance for the modern world order and the destiny of mankind.” It did not mention Power of Siberia 2. (RM, 03.22.23)
- Xi invited Putin to visit China in 2023. Xi also invited Russian premier Mishustin—with whom he held talks on March 21—to visit China. (AFP, 03.21.23, Xinhua, 03.21.23)
- Mishustin and Premier of the State Council of China Li Qiang will meet soon to update the roadmap for interstate events, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said. (Interfax, 03.23.23)
- The joint statement on “Deepening relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction entering a new era” says:2
- On the third day of Xi’s March 20-22 visit he was seen off by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. (TASS, 03.22.23)
- Thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, China-Russia trade exceeded $190 billion last year, up by 116% from 10 years ago. (Xinhua, 03.23.23)
- Russia accounted for 3% of China’s foreign trade volume in 2022 while China accounted for 22% of Russia’ foreign trade volume in 2022. (RM, 03.23.23)
- Russian gas supplies to China over the Power of Siberia gas pipeline will stand at 22 billion cubic meters in 2023, Novak said. (TASS, 03.23.23.)
- Military cooperation between Russia and China was discussed at the talks between Putin and Xi, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told TASS. It was agreed to continue to implement the agreements that were previously reached through the Defense Ministry, Ushakov said. He did not specify whether he was referring to weapons supplies or military exercises. (TASS, 03.22.23.)
- Imports of refined aluminum from Russia into China surged 94% to about 538,600 metric tons between March 2022 and February 2023 from the previous 12 months, according to Chinese customs data. That’s a record annual volume on a moving-average basis. (Bloomberg, 03.21.23)
- In November, Russia's new envoy to China told reporters that Xi was planning to visit Moscow, long before Beijing was ready for an announcement, according to people close to Beijing's decision-making. Two months earlier, much to Beijing's chagrin, the people said, the Kremlin leaked video footage of the head of China's legislature reassuring his Russian counterpart of Beijing's "understanding and full support" on the Ukraine issue and what he called "Russia's resolute response." (WSJ, 03.19.23)
- Is Russia now a client state of China, a reporter asked National Security Council spokesman John Kirby at the daily White House briefing. "They certainly are the junior partner," Kirby replied. (WP, 03.21.23)
- Blinken told senators March 22 that the State Department needs its full budget request to tackle “the immediate, acute threat posed by Russia’s autocracy and aggression” and “the long-term challenge from the People’s Republic of China.” (Bloomberg, 03.23.23)
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said March 21 that the alliance had seen “some signs” Russia had requested lethal aid from China for the war in Ukraine. So far, he said, “We haven’t seen any proof that China is delivering lethal weapons to Russia.” (Bloomberg, 03.21.23)
Missile defense:
- The joint statement on comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction that Putin and Xi signed on March 21 says: “Russia and China express concern over the U.S. Global Missile Defense System. ... Russia and China oppose attempts by individual countries to turn outer space into an arena of armed confrontation and will oppose activities aimed at achieving a military.” (RM, 03.22.23)
- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced plans to modernize anti-missile defense systems in Moscow on March 22 following a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory. (MT/AFP, 03.22.23)
Nuclear arms control:
- The joint statement on comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction that Putin and Xi signed in Moscow on March 21 says: “Emphasizing the importance of the Joint Statement by the Leaders of [the P5] ... the Parties reiterate that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it must never be unleashed. The Parties call on all countries that have signed the Joint Statement to follow in practice its key postulates, including effectively reducing the risk of nuclear war and any armed conflict between states possessing nuclear weapons. ... All nuclear powers should not deploy nuclear weapons outside national territories and must withdraw all nuclear weapons stationed abroad. The Parties confirm that [the NPT] is the cornerstone of the international mechanisms for nuclear disarmament and the international regime for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.” (RM, 03.21.23)
- The Chinese president’s trip to Moscow this month has made the world safer, reducing the chance that Putin will use nuclear weapons, according to the EU’s foreign policy chief. Josep Borrell told reporters that Xi had made it “very, very clear” to the Russian leader that he should not deploy nuclear weapons, citing China’s 12-point Ukraine peace plan, which condemned their use. Borrell said he would travel to China “soon.” (FT, 03.24.23)
- There are currently no arms control talks involving Russia and the United States due to Washington's position, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on March 22. The Kremlin sees no point in resuming talks with the United States on the New START nuclear arms control treaty, Ryabkov said. He called Moscow’s recent suspension of New START “almost inevitable” given the “cumulative circumstances of the destructive and hostile actions of the U.S.” “I don’t think there’s any reason to discuss New START with the U.S.,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to dive into a discussion about whether the likelihood of a nuclear conflict is high today, but it is higher than anything we have had for the past few decades, let’s put it that way.” (MT/AFP, 03.23.23, NYT, 03.23.23, TASS, 03.22.23)
- Even if the Kremlin hasn't killed the New START treaty by 2026, the chances of the U.S. Congress agreeing to a replacement that doesn't take account of China's nuclear advances is "essentially zero," says Matthew Kroenig, director of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a former senior Pentagon adviser. (WSJ, 03.22.23)
- “Has the threat of a nuclear conflict passed? No, it has not passed. It has increased. Each day when foreign weapons are delivered to Ukraine ultimately brings this same nuclear apocalypse closer,” Medvedev said. (Yahoo/Ukrainska Pravda, 03.22.23)
- “If we talk about serious things related, for example, to an attempt to recapture Crimea ... It is absolutely clear that this would be the basis for use of all means of defense, including those provided for by the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, when use of any type of weapon threatens the existence of the state itself,” Medvedev said in an interview. (Kommersant, 03.24.23)
Counterterrorism:
- No significant developments.
Conflict in Syria:
- No significant developments.
Cyber security/AI:
- The joint statement on comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction that Putin and Xi signed on March 21 says: “The Parties attach great importance to the issue of regulation of artificial intelligence and are ready to increase exchanges and cooperation on this topic ... Parties oppose the militarization of information and communication technologies.” (RM, 03.22.23)
- Kremlin staff involved in Putin’s 2024 re-election campaign have been banned from using their iPhones for fear of espionage. (MT/AFP, 03.20.23)
- Cybersecurity researchers said this week that they have observed the pro-Russia hacking group known as Killnet increasingly launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks targeting healthcare organizations since November. (The Cord, 03.20.23)
Energy exports from CIS:
- Russia has decided to keep its oil production at a reduced level through June, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. The country last month pledged to reduce its crude-only output by 500,000 barrels per day in March in response to Western energy sanctions. It’s currently close to making this planned cut and will achieve the targeted output level within days, Novak said in a statement, without providing any further details. (Bloomberg, 03.21.23)
- The Kremlin will from April shift to an indicator pegged to Brent, the international crude benchmark, for calculating taxes on oil exports, a move it expects to generate an additional 600 billion rubles ($8 billion) of annual tax revenue by reducing the market “discount” on Russian oil. (FT, 03.22.23)
- Russia is using a fleet of older, poorly insured tankers to sidestep Western sanctions on its fossil fuels, raising fears of a potentially catastrophic accident or oil spill as the Kremlin works to finance its invasion of Ukraine, policymakers and environmental advocates said. (WP, 03.18.23)
- Russia has significantly raised its volume of gasoline exports in recent months after rerouting supplies to Africa and the Middle East due to Western sanctions. Russian gasoline exports averaged 193,250 barrels per day (bpd) between December 2022 and March 2023 so far, according to estimates by the commodities analyst Kpler. Those figures marked an increase from an average of 84,000 bpd in 2021—when Russia exported only 4 million tons of the 41 million tons of gasoline it had extracted that year—and 105,000 bpd in 2022. (MT/AFP, 03.23.23)
- A military drone has attacked an oil pumping station for the Druzhba pipeline near the Ukrainian border, the regional governor said March 21, blaming Kyiv for the strike. (MT/AFP, 03.21.23)
- Group of Seven nations are unlikely to revise a price cap on Russian oil this week, despite initial evidence that crude is selling well below the current $60 threshold. (Bloomberg, 03.20.23)
- Klaus Müller, head of Germany’s Federal Network Agency, said Germany’s power crisis “isn’t over” and much depended on whether next winter would be colder than the last. (FT, 03.23.23)
- Denmark has invited Russian energy giant Gazprom to help recover a mystery object that was spotted near the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline six months after sections of it were sabotaged. (MT/AFP, 03.24.23)
Climate change:
- A United Nations panel of scientists said there is a "feasible, but narrow pathway" to avoid the worst effects of climate change, however to do so, the world's nations must together cut greenhouse-gas emissions 60% by 2035 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels. (WSJ, 03.20.23)
U.S.-Russian economic ties:
- No significant developments.
U.S.-Russian relations in general:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has called Putin a "war criminal.” "I do think he should be held accountable,” DeSantis said. He clarified that he fully opposed Putin's invasion, aligning himself more closely with other Republicans—and distancing himself from previous comments that he said had been "mischaracterized." (WP, 03.23.23)
- The Moscow City Court has postponed a hearing into appeals filed by U.S. investor Michael Calvey and his associate, French national Philippe Delpal, against their 2021 convictions on embezzlement charges that they reject. Calvey and Delpal have left Russia having complied with the travel restrictions imposed on them with their suspended sentences in a highly controversial fraud case (MT/AFP, 03.24.23, RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
- The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before their Pride Night game against Vancouver because of security concerns involving a Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQ rights in the country. (AP, 03.23.23)
- Russia's only active female cosmonaut Anna Kikina on March 23 described a "wonderful" atmosphere during her mission to the International Space Station where she traveled aboard a SpaceX spaceship. (MT/AFP, 03.23.23)
II. Russia’s domestic policies
Domestic politics, economy and energy:
- The Bank of Russia said it held 74.9 million ounces of gold, worth $135.6 billion, at the end of February, unchanged from the previous month and up from 73.9 million a year earlier. Over the same period, total holdings of foreign exchange and gold dropped to $574 billion from $617 billion. (Bloomberg, 03.22.23)
- Russian households held a record 7.33 trillion rubles ($105 billion) in foreign currencies as of Feb. 1, according to the Bank of Russia. The February number is the highest since at least 2018, when these statistics were first disclosed, according to the central bank data. Most of the inflows came in the second half of 2022. (Bloomberg, 03.19.23)
- Russian state oil giant Rosneft posted a sharp drop in its annual profit on March 20 in the wake of Western sanctions against the country. The company announced a net profit of 813 billion rubles ($10.5 billion) for last year, down 7.9% from 2021. Rosneft said "non-monetary factors played a large role in determining the dynamics" of its earnings. (MT/AFP, 03.20.23)
- Russian police have arrested Oleg Orlov, one of the leaders of Memorial, the rights group that shared last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, as Putin’s crackdown on dissent continues more than a year into his invasion of Ukraine. Orlov was charged with “repeatedly discrediting the armed forces.” If found guilty, he would face up to three years in prison. (FT, 03.21.23)
- The Moscow-based SOVA analytical center said on March 20 that Russia's Justice Ministry has asked a court to disband the think tank. (RFE/RL, 03.20.23)
- Putin signed a law on March 18 introducing lengthy prison terms for “discrediting” and spreading “fake” information about any force, including the notorious Wagner Group mercenary unit, fighting for Russia in Ukraine. (MT/AFP, 03.18.23)
- Officers from Russia’s FSB raided two Moscow bars, temporarily detaining dozens of workers and customers, after its owners last year allegedly held a fund-raising event for a Ukrainian group. (RFE/RL, 03.19.23)
- Imprisoned Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been placed in a punitive solitary confinement cell for the 12th time since mid-August, for "wrongly identifying himself" to a guard. (RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
- Maria Pevchikh has been named chairwoman of Navalny's International Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF International) after Leonid Volkov announced his decision to suspend his political and public activities over a letter he signed arguing for lifting EU sanctions on some Russian oligarchs. (RFE/RL, 03.22.23)
- The Kremlin on March 24 said that Russia would skip this year's annual Earth Hour event on March 25 after the country's authorities designated the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) a "foreign agent." (MT/AFP, 03.24.23)
- Russia's Justice Ministry has added blogger Ilya Varlamov and lawyer Pavel Chikov of the Agora legal defense organization to the "foreign agents" registry. (RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
- Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has put political scientist and Putin’s former speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov on the wanted list. (Media Zone, 03.24.23)
- Russian politician Maxim Katz has been arrested in absentia on charges of spreading “fake news” about the Russian Armed Forces (MT/AFP, 03.23.23)
Defense and aerospace:
- Russia has halted its disposal of Soviet-era weapons since invading Ukraine last year, The Moscow Times’ Russian service reported March 20, citing procurement data. The report comes amid widespread reports of the Russian army being plagued with equipment shortages throughout the 13 months of its offensive. Russia had spent 7.7 billion rubles ($100.3 million) on contracts to destroy leftover weapons, including intercontinental missiles, radio-guided missiles, fuel and other equipment, from 2014-22. (MT/AFP, 03.20.23)
- Residents of 52 Russian regions as well as the annexed Crimean peninsula have said their family members currently fighting in Ukraine have been receiving delayed or partial salary payments, while some haven’t been paid at all. (MT/AFP, 03.22.23)
- See section Military aspects of the Ukraine conflict and their impacts above.
Security, law-enforcement and justice:
- A Moscow region court ordered to keep Maj. Gen. Vadim Dragomiretsky, deputy commander of the Central District of the Russian Guard, in pre-trial custody over charges of accepting a bribe in the amount of more than 28 million rubles. (Media Zona, 03.22.23)
- The Southern District Military Court sentenced Mikhail Muzraev, former head of the Volgograd department of the Investigative Committee, to 20 years in a strict regime colony, for attempting to assassinate Volgograd Gov. Andrei Bocharov. (Meduza, 03.22.23)
- A court in the Siberian city of Barnaul has sentenced an officer with Russia's FSB, who was deported from Kazakhstan where he unsuccessfully sought political asylum, to 6 1/2 years in prison. (RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
- A Russian partisan group called Chyorny Most (Black Bridge) has claimed responsibility for a fire in the compound of the FSB in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border that killed at least four people and injured five others on March 16. (RFE/RL, 03.21.23)
III. Russia’s relations with other countries
Russia’s general foreign policy and relations with “far abroad” countries:
- Russians established more than 1,300 firms in Turkey in 2022, a 670% increase from the previous year, according to a report by The Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, a think tank. (Bloomberg, 03.20.23)
- Russia is unable to honor its arms delivery commitments to India because of the war in Ukraine, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said. (CNN, 03.24.23)
- Indonesia may end its visa-on-arrival policy for citizens of Russia and Ukraine following reports of a wave of behavioral-related incidents and visa violations. (CNN, 03.20.23)
- Jan Marsalek of the Wirecard’s grandfather, Hans Marsalek, was suspected by Austrian authorities of being a Russian spy. (FT, 03.20.23)
- Russia's Foreign Ministry on March 21 summoned Minister Counsellor Brian Ebel of the Canadian Embassy in Moscow over Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly's recent statements regarding her country's efforts against Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The ministry called Joly's opinions "another Russophobic move ... that will have the most serious repercussions for the bilateral relations." (Bloomberg, 03.21.23)
- Russia ramped up its fish exports to the European Union in 2022 despite tensions over the war in Ukraine, Kommersant reported March 22, citing trade data. Last year’s supply volumes to the European Union increased by 18.7% to a total of 198,800 metric tons, according to the Russian Fishery Industries Association (VARPE). The value of Russian fish exports increased by 57.6% to 940 million euros ($1 billion), VARPE said in its annual review based on Eurostat data. (MT/AFP, 03.22.23)
- Estonia has declared a staff member of Russia's Embassy in Tallinn persona non grata for "directly and actively undermining Estonia's security and constitutional order, spreading propaganda that justifies Russia's military action and causing divisions in Estonian society." (RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
Ukraine:
- Iceland's lawmakers have recognized the Holodomor, the 1932-33 famine caused by the policies of the Soviet government in Ukraine, as genocide. (RFE/RL, 03.23.23)
- Energoatom and Cameco have signed agreements covering the supply of Ukrainian uranium and the production of nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants in Ukraine. (WNN, 03.20.23)
- Putin made a surprise visit to Mariupol, the Ukrainian city all but destroyed by his invading army last year, in an apparent show of defiance after the ICC issued an arrest warrant accusing the Russian president of war crimes. Putin flew by helicopter from Crimea and then toured Mariupol. (FT, 03.19.23, NYT, 03.19.23)
- The head of the 11th-century Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine's most significant Orthodox monastery, has said that the monks facing eviction because of their church's links to Russia will not leave. (MT/AFP, 03.23.23)
- Journalists from Novaya Gazeta Europe have discovered 1,150 companies in the annexed territories of Ukraine which are now registered under Russian jurisdiction. Eighty percent of these companies appear in the register of legal entities of Ukraine, which means they existed before the start of the occupation, and then were transferred to Russian jurisdiction. (NG/Meduza, 03.24.23)
Russia's other post-Soviet neighbors:
- Blinken has offered support in facilitating bilateral peace discussions with Azerbaijan in a phone call on March 20 with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. The U.S. State Department said that in the call Blinken "reiterated U.S. support for direct talks and diplomacy to support a lasting and sustainable peace in the South Caucasus and stressed that there is no military solution." The statement also said Blinken thanked Pashinian “for Armenia’s continued commitment to peace and encouraged concrete steps forward in finding solutions to outstanding issues.” (RFE/RL, 03.20.23)
- Kazakhstan’s ruling Amanat party received 53.9% of the ballots, leading the second-highest vote-getter by 43 percentage points. (Bloomberg, 03.20.23)
- The OSCE will establish an expert mission to examine the human rights situation in Belarus after a request by the United States and 37 other countries. (RFE/RL, 03.24.23)
IV. Quotable and notable
- As Xi said goodbye to Putin after his lavish state visit, he borrowed a line from a late-19th-century Chinese general lamenting the changes wrought on the world by Western powers that would eventually bring down the Qing Dynasty. "This is part of great changes unseen in a century," Xi said. A pet phrase of his, the line is used at home to market his foreign policy strategy to counter pressure from the West. In Moscow, as he grasped Putin's hand, he added a second part: "Let's push it forward together." (WP, 03.23.23)
- “A quarter of a century ago ... I predicted that the time would come when Russia and China would jointly save human civilization. Today we can state that such an era has come. And this is a new era of humanity,” Russian researcher Sergei Sanakoev wrote in a Chinese newspaper. (RM, 03.20.23)
- “The logic of events dictates that we fully become a Chinese resource colony,” a person close to the Kremlin said. “Our servers will be from Huawei. We will be China’s major suppliers of everything. They will get gas from Power of Siberia. By the end of 2023 the yuan [renminbi] will be our main trade currency.” (FT, 03.21.23)
Footnotes
- Summarized from the Russian-language version posted on the Kremlin’s website and then machine translated.
- Summarized from the Russian-language version posted on the Kremlin’s website and then machine translated.
- Summarized from the Russian-language version posted on the Kremlin’s website and then machine translated.
- Summarized from the Russian-language version posted on the Kremlin’s website and then machine translated.