BEIJING, September 7. /TASS/. Western "partners" are exerting incredible efforts to "push Russia and China into each other's arms," but there are no prerequisites for the emergence of a military alliance between Moscow and Beijing for now, Russia’s ambassador to China, Andrey Denisov, told reporters on Wednesday.
"Anyone looking at what is happening in the world cannot but wonder why the Western ‘partners’ are exerting such incredible efforts to push Russia and China into each other’s arms. Of course, I am exaggerating a little bit, but in fact there is such a feeling," Denisov said.
He pointed out that "observers there are expressing various kinds of concerns, especially now."
"If you read attentively enough printed materials or comments in the electronic media in the West regarding Russian-Chinese relations, either in the general context or against a backdrop of some events - for instance the military exercise in the Far East, it will be easy to notice the very same fears about a military alliance that is allegedly about to emerge," Denisov continued. "While reading this stuff you cannot but feel perplexed: aren’t you, my dears, just pushing both China and Russia towards each other?"
Denisov recalled that the leaders of both countries have repeatedly stressed that Russia and China were not striving for some kind of military alliance.
"Allied relations imply certain obligations. Our Chinese partners and we would not like to make such commitments, because our mutual understanding is precisely mutual understanding. We support each other: for example, in the UN. When voting in the Security Council, in eight cases out of ten we vote the same way, but, let me repeat, not in ten cases out of ten, but in eight out of ten, because our positions are either close or identical," Denisov explained. "We look at what is happening the same way, we see eye to eye, first of all, regarding the policy of Western partners, we may respect or disrespect."
"This is the reason for our solidarity vote. We vote the way we do not because we are trying to do each other a favor, or because we are obliged to each other in some respect," he said. "This is a more balanced and more sensible position both for China and for us. Frankly speaking, I do not see any prerequisites for any kind of allied relations, let alone military alliances," he stressed.
As the ambassador noted, "it is a totally different matter that in a number of areas, as both Chinese and our leaders say, in a number of areas we have reached new highs to achieve relations, which, perhaps, are even higher than allied ones in some respects, which is due not only to emotional factors or political calculations, but to the objective necessity both on our side and the Chinese side."
"And this is quite enough for us at this stage. I do not see any prerequisites for formalizing, so to say, and assuming any allied obligations," Denisov concluded.