Banks in China, the UAE, and Turkey have boosted sanctions compliance leading to Russian oil firms facing months of delays in receiving payments, Reuters reported on March 27. In some cases, money transfers to Moscow have been rejected entirely, several sources familiar with the matter told the outlet.
Several Chinese banks have stopped accepting payments from Russia in Chinese yuan, fearing ramifications of U.S. sanctions, the Russian state-controlled outlet Izvestia reported on March 21, citing representatives of the Russian baking sector and business.
This might be Putin's first trip abroad after he secured his fifth term in office in the recent presidential election, broadly regarded as rigged and unfair.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in France this May, Politico reported on March 18. This would be the Chinese leader's first visit to Europe since the pandemic.
While India has also remained a critical market for Russian oil, payment issues, in part related to Western sanctions, have caused delays in the trade of oil between the two countries.
China is considering taking part in talks on Ukraine's peace formula in the coming months, Chinese Ambassador to Switzerland Wang Shihting told Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung on March 18.
Russian President Vladimir Putin received congratulatory remarks from North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, and a few other leaders of Russia-friendly countries.
NATO and China held their eighth annual military staff talks on March 13 in Beijing, where the two delegations discussed global and regional security issues, including Russia's war against Ukraine.
Russia, China, and Iran started a joint naval exercise called "Marine Security Belt 2024" in the Gulf of Oman, off the coast of Iran, on March 12.
"The main purpose of the maneuvers is to work out the safety of maritime economic activity," Russia's Defense Ministry said.
Leading international electronics companies, including Samsung and Xiaomi, have resumed advertising in Russia after suspending product promotion after the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian state media outlet Kommersant reported, citing TelecomDaily data.
Ukrainian officials briefed the Chinese delegation on the situation on the battlefield, the work of the Black Sea grain corridor, the return of prisoners of war, Russia's violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of POWs, measures to implement Ukraine’s peace formula, and preparations for the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised the strengthening of relations between Beijing and Russia, and claimed that China is a "force for peace" and stability during a press conference on March 7.
Ukraine has about a month before it runs out of artillery shells, and the U.S. Congress cannot agree to ship more. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is dead. The slaughter in Gaza continues with no end in sight. The Yemeni Houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea. The
Russia is increasing imports of sanctioned dual-use goods like drones or U.S.-made computer chips from China via Central Asian trade routes, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on March 4.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that political and diplomatic settlements are impossible without Moscow's involvement in Ukrainian talks. According to the ministry, Russia and China agreed that "the settlements will not be reached without Moscow's participation and considering its interests in the security sphere."
Russia’s 10-year aggression against Ukraine has caused widespread and sure to be long-lasting damage to the country’s economy and demographics. Positive growth predictions were squashed following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region in 2014. Then came Russia’s full-scale invasion in
Leaked Russian military documents outline Russia's doctrine for tactical nuclear weapons use, including the minimum criteria for using tactical nuclear weapons, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Feb. 28.
As Western sanctions designed to cripple Russian energy exports barely slow them down, the Kremlin continues to make enough money to keep its war against Ukraine going indefinitely, just by selling oil to China and India. After pivoting away from Europe, Moscow found enthusiastic buyers in Beijing and New Delhi.
The restrictions have been introduced by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the China Construction Bank (CCB), and the Bank of China, the Russian state news outlet Izvestiya said.
This comes shortly after the EU proposed to include similar measures in its 13th sanctions package, making it the first time the European bloc has directly targeted entities in mainland China.
China has offered long-term support to Budapest on security measures, expanding mutual ties beyond economic cooperation, Reuters reported on Feb. 19 after Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong's visit to Hungary.
"We agreed on the need to maintain Ukraine-China contacts at all levels and continue our dialogue," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Major Chinese banks have reportedly strengthened their compliance with Western sanctions after new U.S. restrictions targeting financial institutions that help support Russia's war effort were announced in December 2023.
"The (Chinese) ambassador said that all this (sponsors of war list) could have a negative impact on our relations," an unnamed Ukrainian source told Reuters.
For Argentina's newly-elected president, Javier Milei, ideology is the beating heart of politics. The economist, TV show personality, and self-professed anarcho-capitalist built his campaign on passionate support for a hands-off government and free market principles. His forthright approach also encompasses foreign policy. In the last weeks of 2023, Milei decided
Key developments on April 26: * Zelensky holds phone call with China's Xi Jinping, appoints Ukrainian ambassador to Beijing * CNN: White House 'welcomes' Zelensky-Xi call, expresses caution regarding Chinese peace plan. * Italian correspondent wounded, Ukrainian fixer killed in Kherson Oblast * 44 Ukrainian POWs freed in prisoner exchange President Volodymyr Zelensky held
He also said Crimea was "Russian at the beginning," without specifying what he meant by beginning.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had an “hour and a half” phone call on April 15, discussing the results of Macron’s recent visit to China and the situation on the front line in Ukraine.
Key developments on April 6: * Russia’s Wagner Group admits Ukrainian strongholds remain in Bakhmut * Lithuania to send $44 million worth of military aid to Ukraine * Ukraine, Poland to co-produce 125 mm tank shells * Reuters: China ready to work with France on Ukraine peace * EU chief says China’s Xi
A year into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there is little doubt in the West that Ukraine needs to win. Led by the U.S., Western support helped Ukraine push back Russian forces and kept Russian President Vladimir Putin from achieving his major warmongering goals. But Russia’s war
Just days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February, China’s leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “friendship without limits,” agreeing there would be no “forbidden areas of cooperation.” Unsurprisingly then, Beijing did not condemn Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine that began on
