On January 5, the Center for Public Analytics "Vezha" hosted a conversation with Artur Kharetonov, President of the Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine and an expert on China. The main topic was the complex geopolitical challenges, the influence of China, the US and Russia on ending the war in Ukraine, and the global context of autocracies.
Kharetonov emphasized that, despite China's low profile in Ukraine’s peace negotiations, Beijing remains a main ally of Moscow—supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex, purchasing energy resources, and establishing arms production in Belarus. According to him, China acts in Russia’s interests, and a full removal of China from this partnership is unlikely despite US attempts.
They also discussed the active efforts of Donald Trump’s administration to intercept influence in Russia and push Moscow away from China. However, these goals appear unrealistic since Russia’s autonomy from Beijing is lost, and the US will likely have to compete with China for Russian influence.
The dialogue covered Venezuela as a platform for geopolitical confrontation against both China and Russia, as well as political regime changes in Latin America. Special attention was paid to the US role in weakening autocratic regimes—citing operations to detain dictators, arrest leaders, and strengthen democracy.
The conversation touched on protests in Iran and their potential impacts on global geopolitics and Russia’s negotiation position with Ukraine. Participants noted that any weakening of autocracies benefits democracies and leads to changes in the global order.
In summary, analysts underscored the crucial impact of shifting geopolitical balances on the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine and stressed the importance of deeply understanding the logic behind the actions of key international players.
