Moscow mortgaging its future to Beijing, warns Nato Secretary General
Moscow is mortgaging its future to Beijing as the effects of the war in Ukraine continue to weigh heavily on the Russian economy, Nato's Secretary General has said.
Jens Stoltenberg made the comment during a speech to a Nato-Ukraine Council meeting in Brussels.
"Russia is losing influence ... not only in Ukraine, but in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Russia is also becoming much more dependent on China," he said.
Mr Stoltenberg added: "As Ukraine has moved forward, Russia has fallen backward. It is now weaker politically, militarily and economically.
"Year by year, Moscow is mortgaging its future to Beijing.
"Militarily, Russia has lost a substantial part of its conventional forces. Hundreds of aircraft. Thousands of tanks. And more than 300,000 casualties."
The Nato Secretary General also explained that the drops in oil and gas revenues, sanctions placed on Russian banking assets and a population decrease of 1.3 million have left Russia under great economic pressure.
He remarked that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strategic mistake had been his decision to invade Ukraine.
The meeting was also attended by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who called on the defence industries of Europe to align into "one holistic complex".
Mr Stoltenberg said: "Moscow is mortgaging their future to Beijing, and this is one of the examples on how Russia is becoming more and more weak economically as a result of this war.
"We see the economic lines. We see how Russia becomes more and more dependent on China. For financing, for commodities and also for key commodities for the defence industry.
"And also the fact that Russia has not been able to export energy in the same way they did before to Europe, which was the main and most important market, not least for natural gas."
Join Our Newsletter
