by Giuseppe Sarcina
The Pentagon has ruled out that Xi Jinping can deliver heavy vehicles to Moscow, but has doubts about the ammunition and spare parts that the Russians currently need
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON The Biden administration is following the negotiations between Ukrainians and Russians with great skepticism and the maneuvers of Xi Jinping with great suspicion. Yesterday the US President said he would watch what the Russians offer. Around the same time, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken of Morocco remarked: It’s what Putin says, it’s what he does; We are interested in this latter aspect.
And finally, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby exposed the announcements from Moscow: The Russians are withdrawing only a few troops from the Kyiv area, there can be no question of an actual withdrawal. We believe the capital is still threatened, as evidenced by the airstrikes. At least for the time being, the American government is not placing the slightest hope in the negotiations. Why? Biden no longer trusts Putin. He also told the four European heads of state and government that he heard in a video conference in NATO’s socalled Quint format: Emmanuel Macron, Boris Johnson, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi.
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The US President is setting two conditions for changing his mind: a ceasefire and the opening of corridors to help besieged Ukrainians in the cities. As long as the bombing continues, there can be no serious negotiations. Another point they may be too quick to take for granted in Kyiv: the United States is prepared to vouch for any agreement and, above all, to intervene militarily in the event of another Russian attack. Biden has never officially stated that availability at the moment, nor does it appear to have done so in discussions with Zelensky. We will see.
The other track leads to China. Little has been said about it in recent days, but Americans are following the Chinese moves with great attention. At the forefront of concerns are possible arms deliveries to Russia. The Pentagon rules out that the Chinese will supply bombs and heavy vehicles to Putin. It would be too overt support, and at this stage, Washington thinks, Xi Jinping wants to avoid a direct confrontation with the United States and European partners. But this does not apply to ammunition and spare parts. Also the Russian army is in big trouble because they cannot repair tanks, armored vehicles, artillery pieces or just tank trucks and convoys for food transport. Pentagon generals fear that in this case the Chinese will be able to help the Russians without a trace. So far, however, no one in Washington has presented evidence. So at the moment we don’t know if it’s just a malicious guess or if it’s something more.
March 30, 2022 (Change March 30, 2022 | 10:42)
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