Vladimir Putin Tries To Strike Gas Deal With China

Vladimir Putin Tries To Strike Gas Deal With China

Vladimir Putin’s China visit ended on a less impressive note as the anticipated gas deal the Kremlin was hoping to strike is still being negotiated. The two former soviet countries did seem to agree on one thing and launched joint military exercises in the East China Sea. The move was a clear show of strength against Japan, the biggest western alley in Asia and a country that has had numerous territorial issues with both Russia and China.

After Russia received harsh economic sanctions from the E.U., the U.S. and Japan in lieu of the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, the recent trip to China is seen as a strategic reorientation towards Asia.

Vladimir Milov, a former deputy energy minister of the Russia Federation and current leader of the Institute of Energy Policy in Moscow said that the visit is meant to show the Western powers as well as his own electorate that Putin has other strong friends he can turn to. The trip was meant to show that Russia doesn’t rely solely on its cooperation with the West and can sell its natural resources to China as well.

Among many successful agreements to increase trade and cooperation in the military and technological fields, the much expected gas deal, the main talking point of the visit failed to materialize.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday May 21 2014, 9:44 AM EST. Ref: theguardian. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0