Russian officials on Monday condemned French President Emmanuel Macron’s claims that Moscow was becoming subservient to China, saying Western countries must adapt to a world dominated by Moscow’s connections to Beijing.
Macron’s interview with l’Opinion, in which he denounced the Kremlin’s isolation after it invaded Ukraine 14 months earlier, drew Russian condemnation.
“(Russia) has de facto started a form of vasallisation with China and has lost access to the Baltic that was critical to it as it has precipitated the decision by Sweden and Finland to join Nato,” Macron told the daily.
“This was unthinkable two years ago.”
The polemic focused on March talks in Moscow between Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who stated they were beginning “a new era” of strategic alliance.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said Russia’s relationship with China was strategic, not dependent.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Paris was worried about Moscow’s enhanced connections with China and the suggested world order changes.
“The West generally appears fearful of the formation of a truly multilateral system of international relations before our eyes, one that includes several separate independent centres, particularly Russia and China,” Grushko said on the ministry website.
“In this changing world, E. Macron and other Western leaders will have to accept strong, equitable, and mutually respectful relations between Moscow and Beijing.”
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