Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in China for a visit. Since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him, this is only the second foreign trip for the Russian head of state.
Previously, Putin had traveled to Kyrgyzstan to meet with President Sadyr Japarov. Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited Putin to participate in the third Belt and Road Forum, which highlights China’s global economic influence, as reported by The Kyiv Independent. Putin is expected to attend the official opening of the forum and also meet with the leaders of Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia, and Laos. Additionally, he is scheduled to give a speech at the forum on October 18 and then meet with Xi for bilateral talks.
Putin has no fear of arrest in China
According to Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, China is Russia’s economic “lifeline”. The visit also serves to underscore Russia’s growing dependence on Beijing’s economic support in the face of Western sanctions and the high costs of the war in Ukraine. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted that most Russian drones would come from China (as we reported). Putin faces no threat of arrest in China. The country has never joined the so-called Roman Statute of the court and can therefore ignore the arrest warrant issued there.
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Image: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, 26 july 2018, via Wikimedia Commons (no changes made)
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