PUTIN'S POKER FACE: Beijing Summit Signals Hardening Alliances as Russia, China Close Ranks Amid U.S. Sanctions Threats
This has been a week marked by escalated diplomatic maneuvering and heightened geopolitical tension. Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing, which experts in Moscow see as reinforcing the deepening alliance between Russia and China.
The meeting took place alongside the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers’ summit in Tianjin, where Lavrov has been representing Moscow since July 13.
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Trump also confirmed that NATO would continue supplying Ukraine with U.S. weapons—specifically, 17 Patriot missile defense systems—so long as European nations agree to foot the bill. These statements are part of an intensified push by the U.S. to corner Moscow both militarily and economically.
Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO, said in an interview that Trump’s remarks are expected to provoke a swift reaction from Russia. He pointed out that such tariffs would also affect key Russian energy customers like China and India, potentially straining relationships in the Global South.
The potential fallout could also hit other nations that maintain trade with Moscow, widening the scope of U.S. economic coercion.
In Moscow, the response was immediate. Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international affairs committee in the Russian Duma, dismissed Trump’s threats and insisted the real pressure should be placed on Kyiv.
“If Trump really wants progress in the Ukrainian settlement, he should shake his fist at the Zelensky regime rather than threaten Russia,” Slutsky told TASS. He reiterated that Russia’s proposals for peace remain on the table and that Moscow awaits Ukraine’s agreement to resume Istanbul-2 talks.
Meanwhile, tensions between Russia and Europe flared after German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said German troops would be prepared to “kill Russian soldiers” in the event of a war with NATO.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the remarks, calling them dangerous and a stark reminder of Germany’s militaristic past. “Germany is turning dangerous again,” Peskov told RBC, expressing disbelief that such rhetoric could resurface from a senior German official.
Further signaling Moscow’s shift eastward, Russia’s Nordwind airline announced it would launch direct flights between Moscow and Pyongyang starting July 27, the first such route between the Russian and North Korean capitals.
The monthly flights, authorized by Rosaviatsiya, are part of broader efforts to strengthen ties with isolated regimes and diversify geopolitical support.
On the domestic front, Russia continues its crackdown on dissent. Writer Boris Akunin, born Grigory Chkhartishvili, was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison on charges of aiding terrorist activities, justifying terrorism online, and violating foreign agent laws.
Akunin, who holds dual Russian and British citizenship and has lived in London since 2014, was also slapped with a four-year ban on managing websites and fined 600,000 rubles.
He was added to Russia’s terrorist and extremist registry in December 2023, following public statements supporting Ukraine's resistance and condemning Russia’s invasion.
The confluence of these developments—escalating U.S. economic threats, deepening Sino-Russian ties, European defense posturing, and Russia’s internal suppression—paints a picture of an increasingly polarized global order.