Putin challenges.. Biden walks around.. and Beijing is concerned

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his annual address to the nation, vowed to “methodically” continue the war in Ukraine, blaming the West for the escalation. Putin confirmed that he would continue his offensive “systematically” in Ukraine after Kyiv’s allies promised to send new weapons to Ukraine. “To ensure the security of our country, as well as to eliminate the threats of the neo-Nazi regime that existed in Ukraine after the 2014 putsch, a decision was made to conduct a special military operation,” he said. We will tackle the challenges that lie ahead of us, step by step, carefully and methodically.” “Responsibility for inciting and escalating the Ukrainian conflict and for the number of victims… lies entirely with the Western elites,” Putin said. On the other hand, US President Joe Biden met in Poland, where he arrived on Monday evening after a surprise visit to Kiev, with Polish President Andrzej Duda, where they discussed strengthening the security of Poland and the presence of NATO in it. He also met with nine Bucharest leaders who are eastern allies in the alliance, reaffirming the United States’ support for the security of these countries while also continuing to rally support for Ukraine. The war in Ukraine is a sensitive issue for Beijing, which has maintained strong diplomatic and economic relations with Moscow for years, backed by a shared interest in balancing power with Washington. China takes a neutral official position on the Ukrainian case and calls for respect for the sovereignty of countries, including Ukraine, and calls on the international community to take into account Moscow’s security concerns. Days before the second year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken raised concerns that China was considering arms supplies to Russia, which Beijing denied. “Almost a year has passed since the crisis in Ukraine led to a general escalation,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said at a conference in Beijing. “China is very concerned about this conflict, which is escalating and even getting out of control,” he told dozens of foreign ambassadors and diplomats. Beijing is wary of arms supplies to Ukraine. “We call on the relevant countries to stop adding fuel to the fire and stop blaming China as soon as possible,” Chen Gang said. “We will continue to promote peaceful dialogue and work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation, address the concerns of all parties, and strive to achieve common security,” he added.