Russia’s Putin summit with China president Xi Jinping was about Iran, Trump goes unmentioned

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, and the former was beaming when he told the latter: “I haven’t seen you in a day, but it’s as if three autumns have passed.”

So yes, the bromance theater continues with these two boys.

Yet, the real drama had nothing to do with adoration. It was all about uranium, oil, sanctions, shipping routes, and the ugly war on Iran that Trump started.

Putin fails to secure the gas pipeline deal Moscow wanted from China

Putin left Beijing on Wednesday with fresh China-Russia agreements and public talk about long-term ties.

Beijing gave him the same kind of welcome it gave America’s Donald Trump earlier, with a red carpet, children holding flowers, and flag-waving lines at the airport.

Trump’s visit sat in the background, but the main Beijing talks were about Moscow, Tehran, and China’s energy position.

Russia demanded an unambiguous push towards the development of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline. This is necessary for Moscow since its gas supply to Europe decreased dramatically since 2022 when the war in Ukraine started. The strategy assumes that the gas will be redirected to China rather than Europe.

The Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov admitted that there was no need for further negotiations over the major issues related to this project, while some details should be worked out.

According to RIA Novosti (translated via Google [Alphabet]), there was no definite time table. This is important because the construction of the pipeline was mentioned earlier by Moscow.

Energy cooperation was described by Xi as “ballast stone” of the relations between the two countries. However, Xi did not say anything regarding the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline publicly. His silence spoke for itself.

China imports a huge amount of Russian fuel. But it does not want to be too dependent on one supplier. Previously, Moscow increased oil exports to China following serious disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Peskov says Putin shared Russia’s Iran uranium proposal with Xi

Peskov said on Thursday that Tehran and Washington should talk about Russia’s offer to take Iran’s enriched uranium. He said the United States had not accepted the idea.

“They discussed Iran during the tea meeting,” Peskov said. “He shared it.”

Peskov refused to give more details and said: “That is precisely why the conversation was held behind closed doors.”

The expected draft of a U.S.-Iran deal includes a full ceasefire on all fronts, a ban on attacks against infrastructure, and free navigation in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz under a joint monitoring setup. It also includes gradual sanctions relief if Iran follows the terms.

Talks on unresolved issues would start within seven days. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also said to be trying to stop the IRGC from taking over political and diplomatic decisions.

However, the agreement will be reached soon, although there are no signs of relief on the part of the markets. There were 10 unsuccessful attempts and therefore, so you can see why there is no enthusiasm from us.

Oil rose slightly on Friday amid three straight declines. The price of Brent oil for July delivery was quoted at $104.52 per barrel, rising by 1.9%. WTI oil futures for June were also up by 1.5% at $97.81.

This was due to contradictory news. Trump indicated that the US had reached the final stage in the negotiations with Iran. However, according to Reuters (Thomson Reuters agency), the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, decided that the uranium enriched close to weapons-grade level should remain in Iran.

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