Sino-Russian ties led by Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin snubbed an invitation from U.S. President Barack Obama to visit America, and did not attend the G-8 summit in Washington on May 18 and 19. This was the first time for a Russian leader not to participate in a G-8 summit. Putin also disregarded Obama’s letter proposing bilateral talks at the White House apart from the G-8 meeting. Putin went to China Tuesday for a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. This was Putin-style summit diplomacy, through which he demonstrated that Moscow’s friend is Beijing, not Washington.

Putin began his third term as president last month. After serving eight years as Russia`s head of state from 2008, he became prime minister due to a law banning a person from serving three consecutive terms as president. He returned to the top post in the Kremlin in four years. An amendment to the Russian constitution has increased a presidential term to six years. If Putin is re-elected in 2018, he will remain in power through 2024. Considering his greed for power, he deserves the nickname “modern czar.” The U.S. will hold its presidential election in November, and China`s fifth-generation leadership will be inaugurated by year`s end. Putin will likely have a bigger say in world affairs by banking on the solid footing he enjoys in his country.

In an op-ed piece contributed to the People’s Daily of China published on the eve of his visit to Beijing, Putin wrote, “It is a geopolitical reality that any international issue can be resolved only when China and Russia participate and when the two countries’ interests are taken into consideration.” He seemed to be effectively admitting to intentionally snubbing Obama to spearhead pending international issues by joining forces with China. Following their bilateral summit, presidents Hu and Putin invited Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Beijing, and discussed resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis. Unlike leaders of Western countries, the Chinese and Russian leaders are also opposed to international military involvement in Syria`s massacre of civilians.

If the U.S. policy to return to Asia clashes with the close partnership between China and Russia, this will have a massive impact on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea should prevent a situation where it incurs damage to its national interests because of conflict between global superpowers. The Lee Myung-bak administration has restored its bilateral alliance with the U.S. to the best possible situation and has markedly improved ties with China, which will mark 20 years of relations with South Korea this year. Seoul`s relations with Moscow are less than satisfactory, however. South Korea desperately needs a diplomatic strategy to induce Putin, who will raise his voice in the world as Russian president for at least six years, to become Seoul’s friend. South Korea must take advantage of Putin’s diplomatic prowess to curb North Korea’s aggression and resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff.

Editorial Writer Bhang Hyeong-man (hnbhang@donga.com)