{"id":87578,"date":"2024-06-26T11:00:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T01:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=87578"},"modified":"2024-06-26T09:26:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T23:26:18","slug":"putins-latest-stirring-in-asia-and-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/putins-latest-stirring-in-asia-and-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin\u2019s latest stirring\u2014in Asia and Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

June has been a busy month for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a\u00a0speech<\/a>\u00a0at Russia\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he outlined his terms for peace negotiations with Ukraine and proposed establishing an alternative international security system in collaboration with China.<\/p>\n

A week later, during a two-day\u00a0visit\u00a0to Pyongyang, he signed a strategic\u00a0defence pact\u00a0with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Russia and North Korea pledged to provide each other with immediate military assistance in the event of war, leaving no doubt about the Kremlin\u2019s determination to undermine the US-led international order by forming alliances with authoritarians around the world.<\/p>\n

In his hour-long address on June 14, just before a Ukraine-led peace summit in Switzerland, Putin covered a wide range of topics. He began with the so-called special military operation in Ukraine, discussed the \u2018inevitable\u2019 emergence of a new multipolar world order, and addressed Western efforts to \u2018restrain the development of the Global South\u2019, noting Russia\u2019s presidency of the BRICS+ group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates).<\/p>\n

In addition to his usual grievances, Putin outlined Russia\u2019s conditions for peace in Ukraine, demanding that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the four regions annexed by Russia in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky quickly rejected these terms, which bore a striking resemblance to the\u00a0ultimatum\u00a0issued by Putin at the outset of the invasion. Zelensky\u2019s rejection was echoed by NATO Secretary-General\u00a0Jens Stoltenberg, who\u00a0emphasised that it was Russia that must withdraw from Ukrainian territory. Even prominent Russian\u00a0commentators\u00a0recognised Putin\u2019s demands as unrealistic, viewing them as an attempt to pressure the West rather than a genuine attempt to achieve peace.<\/p>\n

Putin also confirmed once again that Russia is at war not only with Ukraine, which it considers a proxy, but with the West, especially the United States. Predicting the imminent collapse of the \u2018entire system of Euro-Atlantic security\u2019 and denouncing Western strategies for ensuring Europe\u2019s defence, Putin outlined a five-step plan for establishing a Eurasian system of bilateral and multilateral collective-security guarantees.<\/p>\n

This framework, Putin argued, would complement Chinese global security initiatives, marking another stage in Russia\u2019s \u2018no limits\u2019 partnership with China. Stressing that the new security alliance would be open to NATO members, Putin urged European countries to reconsider the military presence of \u2018external powers in the Eurasian region\u2019, a clear departure from NATO principles.<\/p>\n

While these arguments were not new, the emphasis on the Global South, particularly Africa and Latin America, stood out. Like other demagogues and authoritarians, Putin highlighted the significance of BRICS+ as a geopolitical counterweight to Western power and expressed support for efforts to develop an independent payment system for member countries, free from Western control. This is part of Russia\u2019s broader strategy to undermine the existing global financial architecture, thereby mitigating the impact of US-led economic sanctions.<\/p>\n

The timing of Putin\u2019s speech was not coincidental. It reflected the Kremlin\u2019s ongoing effort to shape critical policy debates in the West and influence election campaigns in countries like France, where Marine Le Pen\u2019s far-right National Rally could\u00a0undermine\u00a0European efforts to devise a coherent Russia strategy.<\/p>\n

A significant portion of Putin\u2019s speech was dedicated to the European Union, which he has long considered subordinate to the US. In a clear attempt to revive old divisions, he addressed \u2018politicians of truly European and global scale\u2019 who were \u2018patriots of their countries and\u2019 and who, like the former French president Charles de Gaulle, understood that Europe\u2019s well-being depends on maintaining friendly relations with Russia.<\/p>\n

Putin, of course, neglected to mention his own efforts to undermine the existing global order. Together with China, Russia has long acted as a spoiler in the UN Security Council. But Russia\u2019s recent actions\u2014such as using its veto to end a humanitarian mission to rebel-controlled areas in Syria and to shut down an expert panel monitoring compliance with economic sanctions on North Korea\u2014have\u00a0alarmed\u00a0international diplomats.<\/p>\n

The terms of the security pact with Kim mirror the 1961 treaty between the Soviet Union and North Korea and represent a significant escalation, even by Putin\u2019s standards. In addition to North Korean support for Putin\u2019s war of aggression in Ukraine, the agreement signals increased Russian support for Kim\u2019s nuclear ambitions, to the detriment of North Korea\u2019s neighbours, including China.<\/p>\n

In response, South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador and\u00a0announced it would consider sending weapons to Ukraine. China, North Korea\u2019s largest trading partner, has sought to distance itself from this rogue alliance. But Russia\u2019s advances could ultimately erode China\u2019s influence over North Korea and escalate tensions with the West, thus jeopardising Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s long-term geopolitical ambitions.<\/p>\n

Given that Putin is unlikely to abandon his efforts to erode Western unity and undermine the current international order, the West should focus on exploiting any potential rifts, even minor ones, between Russia and China. In this regard, Putin\u2019s alliance with Kim offers an ideal opportunity to weaken the Sino-Russian partnership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June has been a busy month for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a\u00a0speech\u00a0at Russia\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he outlined his terms for peace negotiations with Ukraine and proposed establishing an alternative international security system …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1658,"featured_media":87579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1025,261,86,163,744],"class_list":["post-87578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-european-union","tag-nato","tag-north-korea","tag-russia","tag-vladimir-putin"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPutin\u2019s latest stirring\u2014in Asia and Europe | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/putins-latest-stirring-in-asia-and-europe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Putin\u2019s latest stirring\u2014in Asia and Europe | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"June has been a busy month for Russian President Vladimir Putin. 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