Vladimir Putin’s
Russia, sanction-worn, and its economy derailed, is no longer looking to the
West to resolve troubles and improve ties, but to Beijing. These Cold War
enemies-turned-friends have become cosier over the years. Now, with the West
completely snubbing Russia over Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has only one strong
potential ally: Xi Jinping.

Proximity with
China has also allowed Russia to imagine a time when it will not need more
friends in the world. On Monday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia
was working on not being beholden to the West and rely only on “reliable”
countries.

This has been
Russia’s approach since Vladimir Putin launched a “special military operation”
in Ukraine on February 24.

In March, Russian
finance minister Anton Siluanov said, “I think our partnership with China will
still allow us to maintain the cooperation that we have achieved, and not only
maintain, but also increase it in an environment where Western markets are
closing.”

Russia is already
heavily dependent on China. The Western sanctions on Moscow in the aftermath of
the 2014 Crimean war, made it financially reliant on Beijing. Moscow, however,
does not want to preclude discussions with the West.

The Russian
foreign minister said, “If they (the West) want to offer something in terms of
resuming relations, then we will seriously consider whether we will need it or
not.”

China, meanwhile,
has not been as forthcoming in its friendship. While it has not condemned the
Russian onslaught in Ukraine, it has expressed concern and called upon the West
to look at Beijing independently. “China is not a party to the crisis, nor does
it want the sanctions to affect China,” said Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.

China and Russia
signed a “no limits partnership” on the side-lines of the Beijing Olympics. When
Russia moved on Ukraine, Taiwan grew jittery imagining Beijing would take similar
action. However, while Russia has grown to depend more and more on China in
course of the Ukraine war, Beijing has sought to distance itself from the
politics of it while supporting Russia financially.