Tag: Russia

How Russia’s Allies May React to Prigozhin’s Mutiny Against Putin

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Even before President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia broke his public silence on Monday about the aborted mutiny that brought rogue troops to within 125 miles of Moscow, he was on the phone to the leaders of Iran, Qatar and other friendly countries, soaking up their expressions of support while presumably promising a return to stability. For Mr. Putin, who has cobbled together a surprisingly sturdy list of countries that either back his war on Ukraine or have stayed neutral, it was a much-needed display of mutual reassurance. Russia’s message,…

Xi weighs up support for Putin after rebellion

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As Vladimir Putin reels from the biggest threat to his grip on power in years, his counterpart in Beijing will be considering the impact on the balance sheet of his support for the Russian president. The Wagner group’s mutiny, in which troops led by Yevgeny Prigozhin came within a few hundred kilometres of Moscow, has exposed divisions in Russia’s armed forces and cracks that threaten to undermine the stability of China’s most powerful ally. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Xi Jinping, China’s president, has been unwavering in…

China downplays Wagner rebellion as Russia’s ‘internal affairs’

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Chinese officials have described an aborted rebellion by the Wagner group of mercenaries as Moscow’s “internal affairs”, while one state media mouthpiece dismissed the divisions in Russia as an “illusion” being exploited by the west. Russia’s deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko held talks in Beijing on Sunday after the most serious challenge to president Vladimir Putin’s grip on power since he came to power in 2000. China’s foreign ministry initially said only that Rudenko had exchanged views with China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, on Sino-Russian relations as well as “international…

Chinese Firm Sent Large Shipments of Gunpowder to Russian Munitions Factory

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Both state-owned and private Chinese companies have sold Russia products that could plausibly be used by either civilians or the military — including drones, semiconductors, hunting rifles, navigation equipment and airplane parts. China has remained officially unaligned in the war. Officials there argue Beijing is a neutral party and a peacemaker. In practice, however, China has become an important diplomatic, economic and security partner for Russia, after proclaiming a “no limits” partnership early last year. In a speech in April in Washington, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen called that partnership…

Inconvenient Allies, Dangerous Enemies. What’s the U.S. to Do?

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Listen to and follow ‘Matter of Opinion’Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Amazon Music The New York Times Audio app includes podcasts, narrated articles from the newsroom and other publishers, as well as exclusive new shows — including this one — which we’re making available to readers for a limited time. Download the New York Times Audio app here. As authoritarian nations like China and Russia try to assert their power, President Biden has said the United States is fighting a global battle to save democracy. So why is…

What to Know About Modi’s Visit and U.S.-India Relations

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will receive a lavish welcome on Thursday in Washington, where he will address a joint session of Congress and be feted by President Biden and the first lady in a state dinner at the White House — only the third state leader to be hosted by the current administration. Swirling around the pageantry of a momentous visit for U.S.-India relations will be weighty questions of geopolitical alignments with regard to China’s economic influence and Russia’s military aggression, as well as the erosion of India’s…

What will life after globalisation look like? The Venice Biennale may hold the answer | Lorenzo Marsili

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This year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, titled Laboratory for the Future, was inaugurated on the same day that the leaders of the G7 industrialised nations met in Hiroshima. As different as these events appeared, both signalled the end of globalisation. Both also displayed the promise and perils of a fragmenting world. Of all the arts, architecture is the most globally homogenising. Erecting tropical copycats of Paris and London was a staple of European colonial policy. Today, the same glass-and-steel tower blocks dot interchangeable financial capitals the world over. But the 2023…

U.S. Agencies Breached in Cyberattack by Russian Ransomware Group

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A Russian ransomware group gained access to data from federal agencies, including the Energy Department, in an attack that exploited file transfer software to steal and sell back users’ data, U.S. officials said on Thursday. Jen Easterly, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, described the breach as largely “opportunistic” and neither focused on “specific high-valuable information” nor as damaging as previous cyberattacks on U.S. government agencies. “Although we are very concerned about this campaign, this is not a campaign like SolarWinds that poses a systemic risk,” Ms.…

Russia-China Bond Is Closely Watched, and Fraught

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Birthday best wishes rarely come freighted with so much significance. But when it is Russia’s embattled president, Vladimir V. Putin, flattering his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, even seemingly small gestures send a message to the world, not least to their Western rivals. Mr. Putin sent Mr. Xi a congratulatory telegram when the Chinese leader turned 70 on Thursday, wishing his “dear friend” good health, happiness and success, further cementing the image of a personal bond between the two authoritarian leaders. “It is difficult to overestimate the effort that you have…

Ukraine urges G7 to clamp down after western parts found in Russian missiles

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Western microchips and other components coming largely via China are being used to manufacture Russian cruise and ballistic missiles that are being launched at Ukraine, Kyiv has said in a presentation prepared for G7 members this week. The document, leaked to the Guardian, calls for the world’s leading economies to “pressure countries who fail to act decisively”, without naming Beijing directly, as well as a plea to further tighten export controls. Russia, Kyiv says, “has adapted to sanctions” and will produce 1,061 missiles this year, more than double the 512…