BEIJING — On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated their “no-limits” friendship, which has expanded as both countries face mounting tensions with the West, and blasted US military deployments in Asia and the Pacific.

At their summit in Beijing, Putin hailed Xi for China’s recommendations to settle the conflict in Ukraine, which Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected as mostly adopting the Kremlin’s line.

Putin’s two-day state visit to one of his biggest allies and commercial partners comes as Russian forces launch an operation in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, marking the most serious border incursion since the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.

China claims to be impartial in the crisis, but it has supported the Kremlin’s accusations that the West led Russia into attacking Ukraine, and it continues to supply vital components required by Moscow for weapons manufacture.

China And Russia Reaffirm Their Close Ties As Moscow Presses Its Offensive In Ukraine

China, which has not condemned the invasion, suggested a broad-based peace plan in 2023, calling for a cease-fire and direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Both Ukraine and the West rejected the idea because it did not call on Russia to vacate Ukraine’s occupied territories.

China also lent a verbal nod to Russia’s narrative about Nazism in Ukraine, with a joint statement issued Thursday saying Moscow and Beijing should protect the post-World War II order and “severely condemn the glorification of or even attempts to revive Nazism and militarism.”

Putin has claimed the “denazification” of Ukraine as a primary purpose of the military action, falsely referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government as neo-Nazis.

The mostly symbolic and ceremonial visit emphasized cooperation between two countries facing challenges in their relations with the United States and Europe.

“Both sides want to show that despite what is happening globally, despite the pressure that both sides are facing from the U.S., both sides are not about to turn their backs on each other anytime soon,” said Hoo Tiang Boon, a Chinese foreign policy researcher at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

While Putin and Xi stated they wanted to stop the war, they made no new ideas in their public remarks.

“China hopes for the early return of Europe to peace and stability and will continue to play a constructive role toward this,” Xi said in prepared remarks to the media in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. His statements echoed China’s overarching peace initiative.

Earlier in the day, Putin was greeted in Tiananmen Square with military fanfare and cannon fire.

On the eve of his visit, Putin stated that China’s proposal may “lay the groundwork for a political and diplomatic process that would take Russia’s security concerns into account and contribute to achieving long-term and sustainable peace.”

Zelenskyy has stated that any negotiations must entail the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the departure of Russian soldiers, the release of all captives, a tribunal for those responsible for the assault, and security assurances for Ukraine.

China And Russia Reaffirm Their Close Ties As Moscow Presses Its Offensive In Ukraine

Putin said he would brief Xi on the situation in Ukraine, adding, “We appreciate the initiative of our Chinese colleagues and friends to regulate the situation.”

Following Russia’s latest attack in Ukraine last week, the war has reached a crucial point as Ukraine’s depleted military awaits new supplies of anti-aircraft missiles and artillery rounds from the United States, which have been delayed for months.

China and Russia’s joint statement also harshly slammed US foreign policy, citing US-formed alliances as having a “Cold War mentality.”

“Both sides expressed serious concern about the consequences caused to the strategic stability of the Asia-Pacific region by AUKUS,” according to the statement, referring to the acronym for Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

China and Russia have accused the United States of installing land-based intermediate-range missile systems in the Asia-Pacific region under the guise of joint drills with allies. They claimed that the United States’ operations in Asia were “changing the balance of power” and “endangering the security of all countries in the region.”

The united declaration underscored China’s support for Russia.

“There’s so much Chinese falling over themselves to give Russia face and respect without saying anything specific, or committing to anything,” said Susan Thornton, a former diplomat and senior fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center.

The meeting was another endorsement of China and Russia’s amicable “no limits” friendship, which they signed in 2022, just before Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Since then, Russia has been increasingly economically dependent on China since Western sanctions have limited its access to most of the global commercial system. China’s expanding commerce with Russia, which reached $240 billion last year, has helped the country buffer some of the worst effects of sanctions.

Moscow has transferred most of its energy exports to China and relied on Chinese enterprises to purchase high-tech components for Russian defense sectors to avoid Western sanctions.

China And Russia Reaffirm Their Close Ties As Moscow Presses Its Offensive In Ukraine

“I and President Putin agree we should actively look for convergence points of the interests of both countries, to develop each’s advantages, and deepen integration of interests, realizing each others’ achievements,” added Xi.

Xi congratulated Putin on the start of his fifth term in office and commemorated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the former Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, which were formed after a civil war in 1949. In the March election, Putin eliminated all significant political opponents and faced no serious threat. He, like Xi, has not spelled out a succession strategy.

“In a famous song of that time, 75 years ago — it is still performed today — there is a phrase that has become a catchphrase: ‘Russians and Chinese are brothers forever,'” Putin stated.

During the war, Russia and China expanded their military ties. In recent years, they have conducted several cooperative war simulations, including naval drills and long-range bomber patrols over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. Russian and Chinese ground forces have also moved to the other country’s territory to conduct joint training.

China continues to be a major market for Russian military hardware, while the country’s defense industry is rapidly developing, including the production of aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines.

Putin has already stated that Russia has shared highly sensitive military technologies with China, considerably improving its defense strength.

SOURCE -(AP)

One of Canada’s premier schools, McGill University, will go to court to try to get a court order to break up a pro-Palestinian camp that has been growing on its Montreal campus.

It’s been more than two weeks, and the university wants the protesters to take down their tents and leave the land. McGill’s administration says that immediate action is needed to stop the camp from becoming more dangerous and tensed up.

This week, there was a “illegal” pro-Palestinian camp at Montreal’s McGill University. Now, the leader of Quebec has said that police should start taking down the camp. This comes as students at Canada’s biggest universities demand that the schools cut ties with groups with ties to Israel.

François Legault told reporters, “The camp is illegal.” “I expect the police to take down these illegal campsites, as McGill has asked,”

The biggest protest camp in the country is at McGill University. The school has asked the police to help, but as of Friday, nothing had been done to remove the protesters.

Earlier this week, two students asked a Quebec court to move the camp to a different site, but the court refused. The students told the judge that the protest’s present location makes it unsafe for them to go to class.

Pro-Palestinian protesters free speech

The judge, Chantale Masse, said that the students had not shown “irreparable harm” and that removing the protesters would “significantly” damage their right to free speech.

On Thursday, there was a line of cops between the pro-Palestinian camp and the counter-demonstrators waving Israeli flags. There were no arrests, according to the police.

Three post-secondary schools in British Columbia and one at the University of Ottawa have also turned into camps for students. At all of the protests, police have been present, but no one has been arrested in Canada yet, while more than 2,000 people have been held in the US.

Thursday morning, University of Toronto students broke through a fence and set up dozens of tents on campus. They did this even though the school had told them earlier in the week that any camp would be considered “trespassing.”

Organizers say they will stay on school grounds until the university tells them about its investments and gets rid of any that “support Israeli apartheid, occupation, and illegal settlement of Palestine.” They also want the university to end its partnerships with some Israeli academic institutions.

No Safety for Jewish students at McGill University

Sandy Welsh, vice-provost of students at the University of Toronto, said that the protesters could stay as long as their actions were “peaceful.” This was a change from what she had said before, when she said that the school would remove the camp that night.

“We are becoming more worried about safety,” Welsh said in a statement. “You asked people to join your protest, and since this afternoon, the number of people who have done so has grown a lot.” We’re worried that a lot of the people there might not be U of T students or other U of T community members.

When asked what they thought about the camps, Justin Trudeau’s office pointed to a speech he gave on Tuesday in which he said, “Universities are places of learning and freedom of expression, but that only works if people feel safe on campus.” Right now… There is no safety for Jewish kids. “That’s not right.”

Some Jewish groups have said that the protesters are racist, but the organizers say that’s not true because some of the protesters are Jewish.

Source: The Guardian

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin replaced Sergei Shoigu as defense minister on Sunday in a Cabinet shakeup as he begins his fifth term.

In accordance with Russian law, the entire Russian Cabinet resigned Tuesday following Putin’s spectacular inauguration in the Kremlin. Most members were widely anticipated to preserve their posts, although Shoigu’s status remained uncertain.

The Kremlin reported that Putin signed a decree on Sunday naming Shoigu as secretary of Russia’s Security Council. The appointment was revealed shortly after Putin requested that Andrei Belousov replace Shoigu as the country’s defense minister.

Shoigu’s new job was announced after 13 people were killed and 20 more injured in Russia’s border city of Belgorod when a 10-story apartment building partially collapsed due to what Russian officials claimed was Ukrainian shelling. Ukraine has not commented on the incident.

Putin Replaces Shoigu As Russia’s Defense Minister As He Starts His 5th Term

Russia’s upper chamber of parliament must accept Belousov’s candidacy, the Federation Council. On Sunday, it was claimed that Putin had also submitted ideas for additional Cabinet seats, but Shoigu is the only minister on the list who is being changed. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, whom Putin reappointed on Friday, offered several new federal ministry candidates on Saturday.

Shoigu’s deputy, Timur Ivanov, was detained last month on suspicions of bribery and ordered to be held in custody pending an official inquiry. Despite Shoigu’s close personal ties with Putin, the arrest of Ivanov was widely regarded as an attack on him and a likely precursor to his dismissal.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin chose a civilian as defense minister because the ministry should be “open to innovation and cutting-edge ideas.” He also stated that the increased defense budget “must fit into the country’s larger economy” and that Belousov, who previously served as first deputy prime minister, is the best candidate for the position.

Belousov, 65, held senior roles in the prime minister’s office’s finance and economic departments and the Ministry of Economic Development. In 2013, he was appointed Putin’s adviser, and seven years later, in January 2020, he was named first deputy prime minister.

Peskov promised that the change would not affect “the military aspect,” which “has always been the prerogative of the Chief of General Staff,” and that Gen. Valery Gerasimov, who now holds this position, will continue to operate.

Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, wrote in an online commentary that Shoigu’s new appointment to Russia’s Security Council demonstrated that the Russian leader saw the institution as “a reservoir” for his “‘former’ key figures — people he can’t let go of, but doesn’t have a place for.”

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has also been named to the Security Council. Medvedev has served as the body’s deputy chairman since 2020.

Putin Replaces Shoigu As Russia’s Defense Minister As He Starts His 5th Term

Shoigu was chosen to the Security Council instead of Putin’s longtime supporter, Nikolai Patrushev. Peskov announced on Sunday that Patrushev is taking on a new job and promised to divulge more details in the coming days.

Shoigu is largely seen as a crucial role in Putin’s decision to deploy Russian soldiers into Ukraine. Russia expected the operation to easily crush Ukraine’s much smaller and less-equipped army and for Ukrainians to warmly welcome Russian troops.

Instead, the conflict inspired Ukraine to launch a fierce resistance, giving humiliating blows to the Russian army, including a retreat from an effort to seize the capital, Kyiv, and a counteroffensive that drove Moscow’s forces out of the Kharkiv area.

Shoigu spent over 20 years conducting varied tasks before being named defense minister in 2012. In 1991, he was appointed head of the Russian Rescue Corps disaster response organization, which later became the Ministry of Emergency Situations. He got visible in the post. As the rescue corps absorbed the armed Civil Defense Troops, he was promoted to general despite having no military background.

Shoigu does not have the same power level as Patrushev, who has long been the country’s top security official. However, the post he will occupy — the same job that Patrushev fought to elevate from a low bureaucratic role to one of significant influence — will still have some weight, according to Mark Galeotti, the president of the Mayak Intelligence consultancy.

Despite the changes at the top, high-level security materials destined for the president’s eyes will continue to transit through the Security Council Secretariat. “You can’t just institutionally turn around a bureaucracy and how it works overnight,” he stated.

Thousands of civilians have fled Russia’s resumed ground offensive in Ukraine’s northeast, which has targeted towns and villages with artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday.

The fierce fighting has caused at least one Ukrainian battalion to evacuate from the Kharkiv region, ceding more territory to Russian forces across less-defended villages in the so-called contested gray zone near the Russian border.

By Sunday afternoon, Vovchansk, one of the major towns in the northeast with a prewar population of 17,000, had emerged as a battleground.

Volodymyr Tymoshko, the chief of the Kharkiv regional police, stated that Russian forces were approaching the town from three angles.

An Associated Press team stationed in a nearby village witnessed plumes of smoke billowing from the town as Russian forces fired shells. Evacuation teams worked tirelessly throughout the day to transport inhabitants, most of whom were elderly, out of harm’s way.

At least 4,000 citizens have fled the Kharkiv region since Moscow’s forces initiated the operation on Friday, according to Gov. Oleh Syniehubov’s social media statement. Heavy fighting raged Sunday along the northeast front line, with Russian soldiers attacking 27 towns in the last 24 hours, he added.

Analysts believe the Russian effort is intended to take advantage of ammunition shortages before promised Western supplies reach the front lines.

Putin Replaces Shoigu As Russia’s Defense Minister As He Starts His 5th Term

The Ukrainian military said the Kremlin is employing the standard Russian technique of launching disproportionate amounts of fire and infantry assaults to deplete Ukrainian troops and weapons. By increasing fighting in what was previously a static sector of the front line, Russian forces threatened to shut down Ukrainian soldiers in the northeast while also gaining ground further south.

It follows Russia’s increased attacks on energy infrastructure and settlements in March, which many anticipated were part of a coordinated effort to prepare the stage for an onslaught.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that its forces had conquered four villages near the border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv area, in addition to the five villages reported to have been taken on Saturday. Because of the dynamic combat and continual intense shelling, these regions were most likely under-fortified, allowing Russia to move more easily.

Ukraine’s leadership has not acknowledged Moscow’s advantages. However, Tymoshko, the commander of the Kharkiv regional police, stated that Strilecha, Pylna, and Borsivika were under Russian possession and that infantry was being brought in from their direction to organize attacks in other beleaguered villages, such as Hlyboke and Lukiantsi.

SOURCE – (AP)