The Brink of War?

[cdnmatt]

Then why did Lavrov's plane get turned around mid-flight?

[Moses]

Then why did Lavrov's plane get turned around mid-flight?

Chinese already answered to this bullshit: "you should ask German newspaper Bild about that".

My opinion: it is hard for Lavrov to hold press conference in Moscow and at the same time be in the air on the way to China.

[cdnmatt]

Chinese already answered to this bullshit: "you should ask German newspaper Bild about that".

My opinion: it is hard for Lavrov to hold press conference in Moscow and at the same time be in the air on the way to China.

Ahhh, those damn scheduling conflicts that sneak up on you mid-flight.

At least Lavrov has his priorities straight. Stand up the Chinese to give a press conference in Moscow.

[Moses]

So did Russia default today, or what's up?

It's a guarantee they're going to default.

Do you want to eat your hat, Matt?

[Moses]

Ahhh, those damn scheduling conflicts that sneak up on you mid-flight.

At least Lavrov has his priorities straight. Stand up the Chinese to give a press conference in Moscow.

All medias have no proof what this flight even existed. All have remarks "as per Bild"...

[cdnmatt]

Do you want to eat your hat, Matt?

How about you quote me properly instead of being an idiot?

[cdnmatt]

There we go, now it's starting to make the rounds in media.

Beijing: Chinese leader Xi Jinping said war is "in no one's interest" during a phone call Friday with Joe Biden in which the US president aimed to pressure Beijing into joining Western condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The 1:50 hour-long phone call ended at 10:53 am in Washington (1453 GMT), the White House said.

State broadcaster CCTV reported Xi saying during the call that "state-to-state relations cannot go to the stage of military hostilities."

China and the United States should "shoulder international responsibilities," Xi was quoted as saying, as well as declaring that "peace and security are the most valued treasures of the international community."

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/chin...lities-2830437

[Dodger]

The opportunity for Lavrov to meet with Xi one day before Xi's critical conference call with Biden would have been an absolute priority with Putin. The only way his plane got turned around is for the meeting to have gotten canceled. And the only one who could have canceled that meeting was Xi. Yes, I know...pure speculation. But that's what I'm going with.

Xi has enough of his own concerns right now, and the last thing he needs is Lavrov wanting to give him a blowjob for the sake of "perception" when he's busy preparing for his third term in office, a mass escalation of covid, a faltering economy of his own, and trying to prepare for a critical phone conversation with the President of the United States.

China isn't about to get pulled any deeper into this mess than it already has regardless of how hard Russia or the U.S. try. He'll continue walking the fine line till hell freezes over before jeopardizing his own economy, but at the same time, hoping for a quick solution. The main thing China is concerned with right now, and rightly so, is their economy which Putin's War is threatening to completely destabilize.

I read somewhere that China's exports to Russia are around 150 Billion, where combined exports to the EU and U.S. (which could be threatened if China were to make the wrong decision), total somewhere around 1.2 trillion. Xi's no fool. He knows which side of his bread gets the butter.

I like what I've heard so far regarding Xi and Biden's conference call yesterday. I was especially delighted to hear that Biden was able to stay awake during the 2 hour conversation and didn't start blabbering nonsense like he sometimes does. The statement apparently made by Xi that China and the U.S., should stand together as the Worlds two largest economies, and shoulder the responsibilities for encouraging a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.

For either side (China or the U.S.) to allow Putin to manipulate them, more than he already has, is nothing more than the tail wagging the dog. I think their acknowledgement to "work together" was the most important take-away from the meeting.

[cdnmatt]

Why does everyone, especially in the West, act all confused as to what China's stance is? I think they've been very clear and upfront about their stance. They don't want this war, and they don't like war, because it's bad for bsiness. They have their own plans of global domination, and that is taking over the world economically, which they've been doing an excellent job of in the past decades.

Chaotic wars screw all that up, so they don't want war. They're perfectly content slowly and surely usurping the entire global financial system without firing a single shot.

China doesn't give a shit about Russia. China only cares about China. And I'm assuming now due to Ukraine turning into such a complete clusterfuck, not to mention Putin going to them with, "yeah, listen man, we're kind of running low on missiles and money, think you could help us out?", China has most likely recalibrated their view as to where Russia fits into their plans.

[Moses]

Why does everyone, especially in the West, act all confused as to what China's stance is? I think they've been very clear and upfront about their stance. They don't want this war, and they don't like war, because it's bad for bsiness. They have their own plans of global domination, and that is taking over the world economically, which they've been doing an excellent job of in the past decades.

Chaotic wars screw all that up, so they don't want war. They're perfectly content slowly and surely usurping the entire global financial system without firing a single shot.

China doesn't give a shit about Russia. China only cares about China. And I'm assuming now due to Ukraine turning into such a complete clusterfuck, not to mention Putin going to them with, "yeah, listen man, we're kind of running low on missiles and money, think you could help us out?", China has most likely recalibrated their view as to where Russia fits into their plans.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian on the situation around Ukraine (March 17):

• The US government's decision to expand NATO eastward is directly related to the current crisis in Ukraine.
• The perpetrators of the Ukrainian crisis should think deeply about their role in it, take their responsibilities seriously and take practical steps to defuse the situation and resolve the problem, instead of blaming others.
• China's position on the Ukrainian issue is honest and objective, and the countries that should really "feel uncomfortable" are those who think they won the Cold War and can dominate the world, ignore the concerns of other countries and continue to promote NATO's five-round expansion in an easterly direction.