Russian officials on Monday condemned comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that Moscow was becoming subservient to China and said that the West must get used to a world supported by Kremlinhas close ties with Beijing.
The Russian criticism focused on an interview Macron gave to the Paris newspaper l’Opinion in which he condemned the Kremlin’s isolation as a result of its invasion of Ukraine more than 14 months ago.
“(Russia) has de facto started a form of vassalization with China and has lost access to the Baltic Sea which was crucial for it because it prompted the decision of Sweden and Finland to join NATO,” Macron was quoted as saying in the paper.
“This was unthinkable two years ago.”
It turned out polemic focus on talks in Moscow in March between Kremlin leaders Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping where they said they were deepening their strategic partnership by entering “a new era” of ties.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s relations with China were a strategic partner and had nothing to do with dependency.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Paris had been preoccupied by Moscow’s strengthening relations with China and changes it meant to the world order.
“The West in general seems to be afraid of the formation of a truly multilateral system of international relations before our eyes, one that includes several separate independent centers, especially Russia and China,” Grushko wrote in a statement on the ministry’s website.
“Within this changing landscape of the world, it is inevitable that E. Macron, along with other leaders in the West, must come to terms with the reality of strong, fair and mutually respectful relations between Moscow and Beijing.”
[pub1]