China advises Putin against traveling to Istanbul

An important aspect, in my opinion, is China's interest.

If we assume that the most beneficial scenario for China is an aggressive, sanctioned Russia, isolated from the United States (China's main competitor) and Europe (an important market for China), with a totalitarian regime a la North Korea 2.0, which is waging an endless war against Ukraine (i.e., the West), and constantly trying to destroy NATO (which is actually already succeeding – the cases of Fico and Orban are the most striking) - then Beijing should strongly recommend that Putin not go to Istanbul.

Because the option of a ceasefire, which will be presented by Trump as his own triumph (which will lead to a partial restoration of the authority of the United States in the world), followed by a rapprochement between the United States and Russia (with a partial lifting of sanctions and the start of joint business projects) - is categorically not in China's interests. Thus - Putin cannot go to a meeting with Zelenskyy, because Beijing will not recommend it to him.

P.S. In these circumstances, it is absolutely crucial that this thesis be communicated to Trump - no "separation" of Russia from China will occur, Russia is a proxy for Beijing, and therefore the United States should consider Russia as a threat to its own national interests, and not a "business opportunity."

Source

About the author. Mykhailo Samus, Director of New Geopolitics Research Network, co-founder of the Defense Information Consortium.

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