There have been major developments regarding the situation in Ukraine. Russia and China. And the summit meeting between Ukraine and the G7 presidency, Japan, took place on the same day. What does it mean and how will it affect the situation in Ukraine in the future?
This is a commentary by Mr. Shinji Hyodo of the National Institute for Defense Studies of the Ministry of Defense, who is familiar with Russian security.
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In March, President Putin invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow.
"Dear President of the State and dear friend, welcome to Moscow."
Over the course of two days, the two leaders spent more than 3 hours in talks while sharing dinner. President Xi expressed hope for the re-election of President Putin, who has not yet announced whether he will run for the presidential election next year.
"I firmly believe that the Russian people will continue to give unwavering support to the president."
President Putin also expressed his support for China's position of calling for dialogue and a ceasefire, and rebuked the West for increasing its military support to Ukraine.
"The peace plan presented by China can be the basis for a peaceful solution, but so far the West and Ukraine do not seem to be ready, rather the West seems to have decided to fight Russia thoroughly."
While President Xi expressed his willingness to further strengthen cooperation with Russia, he made no specific mention of military assistance to Russia.
What was the purpose of China's approach to this summit meeting?
It seems that the aim was to appeal their presence by buying a "mediator" between Russia and Ukraine.
A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry also emphasized before Xi's visit that "China will uphold an objective and fair position and play a constructive role in facilitating peace negotiations."
In addition, it seems that there was a desire to further strengthen economic ties with Russia in order to recover the stagnant economy due to the zero-corona policy.
At the very least, China doesn't seem to want its relations with the U.S. to deteriorate, but it also wants to avoid the fall of the Putin regime and the emergence of a pro-Western regime in Russia.
It was the same day as the Sino-Russian summit meeting. Prime Minister Kishida made a blitzkrieg visit to Ukraine and held a summit meeting with President Zelensky. He pledged $3000 million to support non-lethal equipment to Ukraine.
"This was a big miscalculation for China," says Hyodo, an expert. This is because the composition of the confrontation of "Ukraine, Japan, the United States, and Europe" VS "China and Russia" has become clear. "This would not have been favorable to China," he said.
This is because, no matter how much China says that it is "neutral," the fact that President Putin and President Xi are shaking hands with President Zelensky on the same day that Prime Minister Kishida is shaking hands with President Zelensky as the G7 chair country can be seen as a "China-Russia alliance" and "China is on Russia's side."
Mr. Hyodo pointed out that it may be a coincidence that the dates overlapped, but he thought that "China has been crushed."
However, for Ukraine, China is an opponent that "cannot be taken seriously."
Before the invasion, China was the largest trading partner and economically important.
With the emergence of a new mediator called "China" that cannot be ignored in both Russia and Ukraine, it will be interesting to see how this movement progresses.