Bolton saw the danger for Russia to become a raw material appendage of China

Russia's long-term stability is under threat due to rapprochement with CHINA, according to Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton. Beijing's ambitions will grow, and to Moscow, Chinawill be referred to as John Bolton's "younger brother"

As it draws closer to China , RUSSIA may find itself in the situation of Beijing's raw materials appendage. This opinion was expressed in an interview with RTVI by former national security adviser to former US President Donald Trump John Bolton.

According to him, in the near future, the interests of the two countries will converge against the backdrop of Russia's special operation in Ukraine and sanctions from Western countries. At the same time, Bolton believes that relations between Beijing and Moscow will be built according to the “big brother – little brother” model, in which Russia will supply China with high-tech weapons and raw materials – oil and gas.

“The Chinese population will continue to grow, and so will [Beijing's] ambitions. And I think that Russia will end up in a difficult situation as a raw materials appendage to China, and sooner or later China may be tempted to take these raw materials in other ways,” Bolton said.

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At the same time, Bolton noted that the sanctions policy of Western countries cannot be called "completely successful." “The country has already had to pay a certain price, I'm talking about Russia and the Russians who feel it on their wallets. However, the policy pursued by Putin has not changed in any way, and I do not think that we have brought Russia closer to collapse in the long term, ”Bolton said.

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goals the protection of the population of Donbass from "genocide by the Kiev regime", as well as the desire to carry out the "denazification" and "demilitarization" of Ukraine. Kyiv, in response, severed diplomatic relations with Moscow and introduced martial law in the country.

After the start of the special operation, Western countries imposed five packages of sanctions against Russia, including freezing the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Russian Central Bank, disconnecting a number of leading banks from SWIFT, and introducing various sectoral sanctions and sanctions against top officials of the state.

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The Kremlin announced the ability of Russia to "keep up" in the confrontation with the West Politics

On April 17, the HEAD of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that the European Union was developing the next, sixth package of sanctions against Russia because of the military operation in Ukraine. The measures could include further restrictions against the banking sector, as well as new sanctions against the country's energy sector, she said. The Kremlin has repeatedly called Western sanctions illegal. If Europe refuses to purchase Russian oil, Russia will compensate for these volumes with sales to the east, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

China has criticized Western sanctions against Russia. Thus, on April 21, Chinese President Xi Jinping criticized the policy of unilateral sanctions and double standards, which, in his opinion, "undermine peace and security throughout the planet." On March 18, Xi Jinping, in a conversation with US President Joe Biden, said that the crisis in Ukraine is “not something that China would like to see,” and the United States should, together with China, be responsible for maintaining peace and stability on the planet.

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In early March, the United States warned Beijing that it would take action if anti-Russian sanctions were circumvented. “China is complying with the imposed sanctions. <...> If they do not comply with the sanctions, we always have <...> the means to take action,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

At the same time, Wang Lutong, DIRECTOR of the European Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that Beijing does not deliberately circumvent sanctions against Moscow, but at the same time maintains normal trade relations with it. “China is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine. We do not think that this should affect our trade with any country, ”he noted.

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