Russia is attempting to deepen its economic and diplomatic ties with China and the Global South to allow it to challenge the international financial system dominated by the U.S. and to undermine the West, the Washington Post (WP) reported.
The Kremlin convened meetings in 2022 and 2023 to find ways to dismantle the post-World War II global financial system and undermine the U.S.' power over global transactions, documents obtained by the Washington Post showed.
“One of the most important tasks is to create a new world order,” one of the documents dated April 3, 2023, reportedly said.
“Western countries led by the United States have tried to impose their own structure, based on their dominance.”
While Beijing has supported Moscow diplomatically and economically despite the West's push to isolate Russia, although it has thus far appeared to refrain from providing direct military assistance.
Another document, reportedly written by a close ally of Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev, advocated for more cooperation between China and Russia on artificial intelligence and cyber systems.
The document reportedly envisioned a new financial system and a Eurasian digital currency based on alternative payment systems between Russia and China to bypass the U.S. dominance of global financial transactions through the dollar.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russia aimed at undermining the U.S. dominance of the global financial system, but he admitted the Kremlin wanted to create an alternative.
Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a meeting in March that Russia planned to continue its war against Ukraine for “at least five years,” Nikkei Asia reported on Dec. 28, citing its anonymous sources.
The article follows media reports suggesting that Putin may be ready for a ceasefire in case Russia keeps the territories it illegally occupies in Ukraine, while the West's strategy on supporting Ukraine is leaning towards preparing conditions for Kyiv-Moscow talks.
Putin's statement likely meant to imply that a prolonged war would benefit Russia and warn Xi not to change his pro-Russian stance, the media outlet added.
Xi traveled to Moscow on March 20 at Putin's invitation for his first state visit to Russia since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
Katie Marie Davies
(Updated: )
