Showing the West that Russia is not alone

Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the CER, told IPS: “In the past China and Russia’s cooperation in the UN Security Council was on what is common ground for them, i.e. that foreign powers should not interfere in the affairs of other nations. But Crimea has changed that”.

Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform think tank in London, told IPS: “Chinese investment is not going to solve the fundamental problems of the Russian economy. Some changes would take decades of everyone working together to implement them, and in Russia that is not really going to happen. And at the same time, Russia will remain suspicious of any foreign investment, including that from China, in strategic areas of its economy.”

... Bond told IPS: “I can see them [China and Russia] cooperating still on common ground. What would be significant is if one or the other were to change their position on something simply to please the other, without it being in their specific interest. But I think it is questionable whether that is going to happen. I don’t see current events as the start of a Sino-Russian international bloc.”

... Bond added: “In the past China and Russia’s cooperation in the UN Security Council was on what is common ground for them, i.e. that foreign powers should not interfere in the affairs of other nations. But Crimea has changed that. Russia has now said that foreign powers should not interfere in the affairs of other nations unless we say so.”