Institute for the Study of War: Russia builds coalition against the West

The Kremlin continues to build a coalition in opposition to Western countries, experts from the Institute for the Study of War write. Russia is enhancing bilateral relations with China, Iran, and North Korea.

Recently, Russia has intensified relations with North Korea. Earlier, the UK Defence Ministry reported that Pyongyang is increasing arms transfers to Russia despite the Kremlin’s official denial of cooperation. The country will become one of Moscow’s most important foreign suppliers if it maintains its recent pace.

Russians have received ballistic missiles and artillery ammunition from North Korea in exchange for potential technological cooperation and other support, causing concern in Seoul regarding the security situation on the peninsula, experts from the Institute for the Study of War write.

Moreover, the Russian government is gradually creating various pretexts for exacerbating tensions. This time, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko and Chinese Special Representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming accused the US and its allies of threatening the military situation in Northeast Asia and warned Washington against spreading “block thinking” in the style of the Cold War.

“Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko met with Chinese Special Representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming in Moscow on March 19 to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” the institute’s report said.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke with Putin on March 19 about bilateral cooperation and confirmed his readiness to help Russia stabilize the South Caucasus region. “Potentially in reference to ongoing developments in Armenia and Azerbaijan,” analysts write.

Additionally, Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov met with Chinese Xinhua News Agency Head Fu Hua to discuss bilateral cooperation in the media sphere.

“The Kremlin has exploited the war in Ukraine to pursue bilateral relationships and create a coalition of states to counterbalance the West, which has long been a central aspect of Russia’s foreign policy,” the report concludes.