Nikkei Asia: Putin told Xi Jinping that Russia would fight with Ukraine for five years

Japanese publication Nikkei Asia published an article penned by one of its editors, Katsuji Nakazawa. The article analyses the complex relations between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China and their impact on other countries. The author paid first priority attention to the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that took place in Moscow. According to the author of the publication, Putin then told Xi that Russia would fight in Ukraine for at least five years.

"This was apparently Putin's way of summarizing a situation that at the time was not favorable to Russia and assuring Xi that Russia would emerge victorious in the end," Nakazawa wrote.

The journalist also believes that Putin thus warned Xi Jinping not to change his pro-Russian position. Putin's remarks that he made at the summit contained the key to understanding a number of mysterious events in the Russian-Chinese relations, Katsuji Nakazawa believes.

Russia kicked off the special military operation in Ukraine the day after the end of the Olympics in Beijing. Vladimir Putin was present at the opening ceremony of the Games. According to the Japanese journalist, the Russian leader did not inform Xi about the true scale of the imminent military operation. Xi Jinping allegedly harboured a grudge against the Russian President because of that, the author of the article in the Japanese publication believes.

Less than two months after Putin's meeting with Xi Jinping in Moscow, China sent a peace mission to Europe. Simply put, Xi Jinping was looking for a diplomatic settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict while distancing China from it.

According to the Japanese journalist, the PRC is well aware of the fact that if the conflict in Ukraine continues for another five years, China will also find itself under serious pressure from the West due to the military cooperation with the Russian Federation.

In addition, the author of the publication notes that the complex relationship between Moscow and Beijing has a serious impact on the policies of other countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

Katsuji Nakazawa believes that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, if it goes beyond the time frame mentioned by Vladimir Putin, will affect various matters related to the Taiwan issue. China does not rule out the use of force to unify Taiwan, the journalist said.