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Did not back them up at the UN or these news headlines about China not helping Russia with this or that? From what it seems, China is absolutely helping them i

Did not back them up at the UN or these news headlines about China not helping Russia with this or that? From what it seems, China is absolutely helping them in actions, while pretending to be neutral, and they’ll do everything to maintain the appearance of neutrality. China even has state-owned, single-purpose banks that don’t touch USD at all, specifically for sanction-busting. Russian banks are now issuing UnionPay cards, apparently. India, supposedly a US ally in the region, buys most of their military hardware from Russia. Turkey, a NATO country, also buys weapons from Russia, and openly refused to implement sanctions. Pakistan, under pressure from tons of 20+ diplomats, openly defied them and did not vote YES, either, and then their PM went to visit Putin. South Korea refused to implement EU/US sanctions, and instead sought to be exempt, and implement their own, supposedly equivalent, sanctions. That’s another way to circumvent sanctions, as the final regulations and loopholes could be quite different, despite being legally “equivalent”. The West will of course down play all of this, but it seems the unipolar days are history.

myko 5y ago
> Did not back them up at the UN or these news headlines about China not helping Russia with this or that? Both. > From what it seems, China is absolutely helping them in actions, China is helping Russia just enough to ensure the Russian state becomes a client of China. This is a major reshaping of their relationship and a huge strategic blunder on Putin's part. He really screwed up here. This was the entire thrust of my original comment, which you don't seem to disagree with? > India, supposedly a US ally in the region India and Russia are closer allies than India and the US, at the government level. They have a "special and privileged strategic partnership". There is no surprise, here. > Turkey, a NATO country, also buys weapons from Russia, and openly refused to implement sanctions. Erdogan has been more friendly with Russia than the US for a few years now. The war in Ukraine seems to have strained this relationship, though. It seems Erdogan is trying to play the fence, here. https://www.reuters.com/world/erdogan-says-too-early-comment-more-russian-arms-purchases-given-ukraine-war-2022-03-14/ https://www.reuters.com/world/erdogan-says-too-early-comment... > The West will of course down play all of this, but it seems the unipolar days are history. I don't understand your point here. Are you saying Russia is fine and the west has screwed up? What did the west do wrong, here, in your opinion? What did Russia do wrong? Should Putin have expected any negative consequences for his actions? AFAICT, the US/EU alliance seems to be a lot stronger than Putin thought, and the condemnation globally has been much harsher than Putin planned on. I don't know or care about "Pax Americana" or what have you - I'm glad Biden has let the EU take center stage in responding to a war of aggression in the European theater. Putin has strengthened the ties of the west, it's just sad it took him murdering Ukrainians to do it.

myko 5y ago

> Did not back them up at the UN or these news headlines about China not helping Russia with this or that? Both. > From what it seems, China is absolutely helping them in actions, China is helping Russia just enough to ensure the Russian state becomes a client of China. This is a major reshaping of their relationship and a huge strategic blunder on Putin's part. He really screwed up here. This was the entire thrust of my original comment, which you don't seem to disagree with? > India, supposedly a US ally in the region India and Russia are closer allies than India and the US, at the government level. They have a "special and privileged strategic partnership". There is no surprise, here. > Turkey, a NATO country, also buys weapons from Russia, and openly refused to implement sanctions. Erdogan has been more friendly with Russia than the US for a few years now. The war in Ukraine seems to have strained this relationship, though. It seems Erdogan is trying to play the fence, here. https://www.reuters.com/world/erdogan-says-too-early-comment-more-russian-arms-purchases-given-ukraine-war-2022-03-14/ https://www.reuters.com/world/erdogan-says-too-early-comment... > The West will of course down play all of this, but it seems the unipolar days are history. I don't understand your point here. Are you saying Russia is fine and the west has screwed up? What did the west do wrong, here, in your opinion? What did Russia do wrong? Should Putin have expected any negative consequences for his actions? AFAICT, the US/EU alliance seems to be a lot stronger than Putin thought, and the condemnation globally has been much harsher than Putin planned on. I don't know or care about "Pax Americana" or what have you - I'm glad Biden has let the EU take center stage in responding to a war of aggression in the European theater. Putin has strengthened the ties of the west, it's just sad it took him murdering Ukrainians to do it.