CHINA JOINS RUSSIA IN OPPOSING NATO EXPANSION; US TROOPS ARRIVE IN GERMANY

Fri 04 February 2022:

The first US troops deployed to Europe to reinforce Washington’s NATO allies have arrived in Germany, the US military’s European Command says.

“Soldiers from the 18th Airborne Corps arrived in Wiesbaden today,” a spokesperson for the command said in a statement, adding that they would establish a headquarters in Germany to support 1,700 paratroopers meant to deploy to Poland.

“These are the first of 2,000 soldiers to arrive in Europe following the Pentagon’s announcement of additional forces moving from the United States to Europe in support of our NATO allies,” the statement said.

‘No-limits’

China has put on a united front with Russia as the Ukraine crisis escalates, with President Xi Jinping joining Vladimir Putin in opposing further NATO expansion.

In a joint statement issued on Friday after the Russian president met Xi in Beijing, the two powers called on NATO to “abandon the ideological approaches of the Cold War”.

The meeting, Xi’s first face-to-face talks with a world leader in nearly two years as his country hosts the 2022 Winter Olympics, came as Western leaders upped diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis.

Moscow and Beijing have affirmed that their tightened relationship is superior to any political or military alliance of the Cold War era, will have “no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation” and is aimed at countering the influence of the US.

“Friendship between the two States has no limits,” the two powers’ declared in a joint statement, announcing plans to collaborate in a host of areas including space, climate change, artificial intelligence and control of the Internet.

Here are some of the key points from the statement, which was issued following Xi and Putin’s meeting.

Russia voiced support for China’s stance that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and opposition to any form of independence for the island.
Both expressed opposition to the AUKUS alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, which they said increased the danger of an arms race.
China joined Russia in calling for an end to NATO enlargement and supported its demand for security guarantees from the West, notably regarding Ukraine.
Both expressed concern about the US’s plans to develop missile defence and deploy it in various parts of the world.
They also criticised attempts by “certain states” to establish global hegemony and impose their own standards of democracy, a thinly veiled barb aimed directly at Washington.
Both said they planned to strengthen their cooperation on artificial intelligence and information security.

Erdogan slams Western leaders’ efforts on Ukraine: Reports

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said US President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have done nothing to help resolve the Russia-Ukraine crisis and are a “hindrance” to efforts to achieve a resolution, according to Turkish media reports.

The comments come after Erdogan met Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday and repeated an offer for Turkey to mediate the crisis with Moscow. He also proposed hosting a meeting of the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

“I have to say this very clearly: if you pay attention, the West has unfortunately not contributed anything to solving this matter,” Erdogan told reporters on his return flight from the Ukrainian capital. “I can say they were literally only a hindrance”.

“There is a serious issue in Europe now in terms of leaders who can solve this issue,” he added. “[And] When we look at…the United States, Biden has not yet shown a positive approach to the matter.”

The United States and its European partners fear Russia may be readying an attack on its neighbour given Moscow’s massing of more than 100,000 soldiers near the two countries’ shared border. But the Kremlin denies such plans and instead blames Washington and NATO for undermining the region’s security.

NEWS AGENCIES

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent