It should come as no surprise that Putin is scurrying off to his 'bosom' buddy Xi Jinping of China as his forces stumble slightly in their attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv.
BBC News : 16 May 2024
"Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing for a two-day state visit to China, in a show of unity between the authoritarian allies as Russia presses forward with a new offensive in Ukraine.
....
“Moscow and Beijing have indeed accumulated a solid baggage of practical cooperation,” Putin was cited as telling Xi Jinping." (inews : 16 May 2024) (my emphasis)
As also reported by Tom Watlin and Arpan Rai,
"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled all his upcoming foreign trips as he looks to concentrate on Russia’s advance in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.
It comes as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (right) announced a new $2 billion (£1.6bn) weapons deal during a visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, before suggesting Washington could sign a bilateral agreement with Ukraine in the coming weeks." (The Independent : 15 May 2024) (my emphasis).
As reported by The Telegraph,
"The modest gains Russian forces have made in their recent push into territory around the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv should serve as a wake-up call to Western leaders, and their continuing equivocation over just how much support to give to Kyiv’s war effort. The latest reports indicate Russian forces are seeking to exploit Ukraine’s critical shortages of ammunition and manpower to launch attacks on two fronts " (The Telegraph : 15 May 2024) (my emphasis)
Sky News on MSN : 15 May 2024
On can only hope that Germany's Olaf Scholz is receiving this message loud and clear, and the German-made Taurus missiles will soon be winging their way to Zelensky's army.
Putin is using his 'rushed' trip to China to push Xi Jinping's 'peace proposals' for Putin's war with Ukraine.
And what, exactly, are these 'peace proposals' being pushed by Xi Jinping?
As reported by Šejla Ahmatović,
"China last year issued a 12-point statement outlining general principles for ending the war — including "abandoning the Cold War mentality" and resuming peace talks — which U.S. and EU officials have dismissed as an attempt to distract from its pro-Russia stance. Xi recently expanded on his principles for achieving peace in talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz." (Politico : 15 May 2024) (my emphasis)
Putin's reading of Xi Jinping's "peace proposals" is that,
“We have never refused to negotiate," Putin said. "We are seeking a comprehensive, sustainable and just settlement of this conflict through peaceful means. We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours." (Associated Press reporters on MSN new : 15 May 2024) (my emphasis)
Essentially, Putin is stating that following his war with Ukraine in 2014, and his current war with Ukraine since 2022, all lands annexed and occupied by his force since 2014 belongs to Russia and to Russia only.
I am somewhat reminded of the 1949 dystopian social science fiction novel by George Orwell, in which he states that, "War is Peace". (cf. Wikipedia)
Putin, it would seem, likewise beleives that "War is Peace".
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