Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key allies China and Belarus strengthened their diplomatic ties on Wednesday after leaders of both nations met in Beijing and agreed to deepen defensive coordination as Europe faces its biggest security threat from WWII.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have signed a series of bilateral agreements that will expand cooperation in areas ranging from agriculture and trade to artificial intelligence and defense, Belarus state news agency Belta reported. .
Details about what an expanded China-Belarus defense partnership would entail were scarce, although according to Belta, the deal called for more joint military training, cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and “a joint pre-emptive fight against color revolutions,” which reports to anti-regime protests.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing March 1, 2023. (Pavel Orlovsky/Belta/AFP via Getty Images)
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But a former Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence officer for Russian doctrine and strategy, Rebekah Koffler, told Fox News Digital that the deal could open “the way for China to potentially funnel weapons and munitions to Russia to assist in the war against Ukraine”.
“This is a very strategic move by Xi Jinping,” he added, noting that the Chinese leader’s motivations for the burgeoning partnership with Minsk go beyond his support for Putin.
“It’s a move to detach Belarus from Russia. Russia and China are only short-term partners of convenience,” Koffler said. “Both seek to prevent the United States from intervening in their respective perceived spheres of influence on behalf of Ukraine and Taiwan.”
Chinese honor guards stand at attention during a welcoming ceremony for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at Beijing’s airport February 28, 2023. (Pavel Orlovsky/Belta/AFP via Getty Images)
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“China is gradually cultivating dependence on Russia…and Russia is indeed becoming China’s junior partner. China is gaining more and more influence over Russia and now over Russia’s former Soviet subjects,” he added. “China wants to outsmart Russia.”
Koffler’s view was echoed in another deal Xi and Lukashenko reportedly signed on Wednesday when they agreed to deepen “all-round cooperation” under China’s prized Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure program launched by Beijing in 2013.
Putin’s top allies have failed to address recent concerns voiced by the United States that China may seek to send lethal aid to Moscow to help Russia turn the tide in its deadly war in Ukraine, but instead both leaders have called for a cease-fire.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (not pictured) in Beijing March 1, 2023. (Pavel Orlovsky/Belta/AFP via Getty Images)
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China last week rejected US suggestions, saying it has no plans to send weapons, and introduced a 12-step peace plan it says could help end the war.
Western and Kiev defense officials scoffed at the plan, saying it lacked any real substance as it demanded that all countries’ territorial integrity be respected, but did not say what should happen to regions of Ukraine that Russia has illegally attached last year.
Lukashenko backed the dubious peace plan and urged both Ukraine and Russia to agree to a ceasefire.
