TOKYO, December 10. /TASS/. The talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Joe Biden of the US, which took place on December 7, are unlikely to reduce tensions between the countries, however, they could boost cooperation between Russia and China as a side effect, influential Japanese foreign-policy analyst, Senior Research Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation Tsuneo Watanabe told TASS on Friday.
"Russia’s intentions are obvious within this framework," the Japanese expert noted. "It strives to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. For this purpose, Russia is exerting pressure, including by deploying troops. The US <…> also is not going to make concessions. Therefore, no fundamental [changes] or lessening of tensions between [the states] are expected."
"These developments occur amid ongoing serious tension between Washington and Beijing," Watanabe went on to say. "This contributes to strengthening cooperation between Russia and China in order to contain the US. Moscow and Beijing are unlikely to achieve a full-fledged alliance, but they see benefits in building up joint actions. For example, this is already evident in their bilateral military drills held in the waters close to Japan."
"China benefits from the tensions between Russia and the US to a certain extent, since it saves [Beijing] from isolation, into which the US wants to force China," the political analyst stated. "Washington blames Beijing for violating the rules of international conduct, trying to engage the EU states into this hostile environment. Therefore, cooperation with Russia helps Beijing to restore the balance of power, a measure of containment. Mutual reconciliation allows these countries to withstand external pressure, exerted by the US. [The relations with] China are also extremely beneficial for Russia as it has economic power and serious influence, in particular, in the UN," the expert mentioned.
On December 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden held talks via video linkup, with the summit lasting two hours. The main focus was the situation around Ukraine. The heads of state also addressed bilateral ties, cybersecurity issues and the Iranian nuclear deal.