Russian Foreign Ministry makes claim of China’s support to the Russian leadership
In what is perceived as the biggest threat to Putin’s leadership in over two decades, Russia faced an unprecedented situation which took the country dangerously near to the brink of a civil war, when the Chief of Wagner, a private mercenary company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, called for an ‘armed mutiny’. Wagner troops were pulled out of Ukraine and led into Russia again, and captured Rostov-on-Don, a key military base camp in southern Russia, on June 24 and continued their advance into the Lipetsk region on June 25.
Putin has called this act a ‘stab in the back’ by Prigozhin, once a close ally of Putin, and vowed harsh punishment against the Wagner chief.
This armed rebellion, which caused waves of alarm in Russia, came to an abrupt end after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko mediated between Putin and Prigozhin. Post mediation, Prigozhin has agreed to go into exile in Belarus and the Kremlin is to drop criminal charges against him.
Image Source: Bloomberg.com
China’s Stand
Amid all the unfurling drama, the Chinese Foreign Ministry released a statement on Sunday, June 25, announcing its support to Russia in maintaining national stability and security. The release came after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko’s visit to Beijing on the same day. He held talks with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu.
China has expressed support to the efforts of the Russian Federation to contain the emergency situation, and further affirmed its interest to strengthen the unity and prosperity in Russia, said a statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Ma spoke of deepening Russia-China ties since the recent past under the strategic guidance of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
Discussions regarding the bilateral relations between the two countries, exchange of viewpoints on the Ukraine crisis and talks on issues of international and regional common concern were an important part of the meeting. Rudenko also added that the current bilateral relations are very strong, and overlook the best period in history for the relationship.
He also expressed Russia’s willingness to work with China to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation and its gains.
Image Source: CGTN
However, experts have also flagged concerns regarding a tilt in the power relations between Russia and China following the mutiny. That a private military force captures one of Russia’s most important base camps of the Russia-Ukraine war and comes within striking distance of Moscow has made quite a gawking dent in Putin’s image as Mr. Invincible, sparking deep concerns in China, and making Russia vulnerable in terms of its power relations with China.
China has a stark fear of chaos and instability; and prefers to have stable and strong allies. Therefore, although Russia is assured of Chinese support in the current scenario, it has to work harder to alleviate China’s concerns regarding stability in Russia and an assurance of Putin’s continued hold on power. China assumed a position of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war, but has frequently been condemned by the West for its lack of criticism of Russia, and continued stable bilateral ties and strategic partnership with Moscow.
