The meeting ended without the signing of the proposed agreement, with Wang instead noting the grouping had landed on five "points of consensus." Those areas, largely general statements such as deepening strategic partnership and pursuing common development, did not include security.
The pact, if accepted, would have marked a significant advance in Beijing's connection to the region, which holds geo-strategic importance in the Indo-Pacific.
Wang Yi defended China's intentions during the media briefing in Fiji on Monday, referencing "questions" about why China was "actively supporting" Pacific Island countries.
"Don't be too anxious and don't be too nervous, because the common development and prosperity of China and all the other developing countries would only mean great harmony, greater justice and greater progress of the whole world," he said.
Coast Guard a part of Indo-Pacific strategy
Amid the Chinese push, the US Coast Guard's efforts in the region haven't received much attention. But they are substantial, and part of the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy released in February.
"We will expand US Coast Guard presence and cooperation in Southeast and South Asia and the Pacific Islands, with a focus on advising, training, deployment, and capacity-building," the strategy's action plan says.
The Coast Guard's website shows cutters have spent hundreds of days and steamed thousands of miles in the past two years helping Pacific island nations.
One of the key parts of Washington's influence in the region is through "shiprider agreements" with 11 Pacific nations, including Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, according to US Coast Guard publications. Under these agreements, defense and law enforcement personnel from the partner nations embark aboard the US cutters to enforce their nation's laws in the island nations' exclusive economic zones.
The relationships the US Coast Guard has forged in the Pacific islands have deep roots, said Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
That "institutionalized network of defense and security relationships" is something Beijing would have a hard time duplicating, Koh said.
"It doesn't enjoy the extent of partnership networks that its geopolitical rivals, the US included, have cultivated in the region for decades," Koh said.
With fish as the main food source and key economic driver of the island nations, the Coast Guard says the emphasis of Operation Blue Pacific is to deter illegal and unregulated fishing.
And that has a big link to China.
With the world's largest fishing fleet, "Chinese-flagged fishing vessels range the world over in search of catch and are notorious for fishing within other nations' -- especially developing nations' -- exclusive economic zones (EEZs)," according to a 2021 report from the Brookings Institution.
Koh said the scope of Chinese fishing activities doesn't help Beijing's case for being a positive force in the region.
"Chinese fishing vessels are not necessarily viewed in a benign manner -- they are large distant water fishing fleets, equipped with large and better-equipped vessels that can outrun, outmuscle and outfish local fishing boats," he said.
Three North Korean cargo planes flew to China and back on Monday, as the country battles an fast-spreading outbreak of Covid-19, according to a South Korean government official with knowledge of the matter.
The planes traveled to Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang, in China's northeast Liaoning province, the official said.
It's unknown what the planes were carrying, but the rare trip came after China pledged to help North Korea with its Covid outbreak, which experts have warned could cause a major humanitarian crisis in the isolated and impoverished nation.
North Korea officially confirmed its first ever Covid cases last week. It had not previously acknowledged any cases, and has kept its borders tightly shut since January 2020.
Since May 12, North Korea has reported nearly two million "fever" cases, with state media calling it a "major national emergency" and authorities scrambling to respond.
All cities have been placed under lockdown, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilized the military to help secure the supply of medicine in the capital Pyongyang.
After the first cases were announced, China said it was ready to provide full support as North Korea's "comrades, neighbors and friends." The two countries have "a fine tradition of mutual assistance," said a spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry.
Throughout the pandemic, China has sent millions of vaccine doses around the world, as well as striking agreements last year with the international vaccine sharing program COVAX to provide more than half a billion shots.
North Korea has not yet established a Covid-19 vaccination program, leaving its population vulnerable, according to the World Health Organization. The country's dilapidated health care system also lacks the medicine and supplies necessary for combating a Covid-19 outbreak.
The situation has sparked alarm among international bodies, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warning on Tuesday that the outbreak -- and the restrictions in place -- could have "a devastating impact on the human rights situation in the country."
Human Rights Watch has also expressed concern, urging the UN and governments around the world to "make every possible effort to persuade North Korea to allow outside humanitarian assistance."
The South Korean government says it has offered assistance to North Korea, including medicine, vaccines and other medical supplies, but has not yet received a response.
Seven-year-old Rhea Bharadwaj was standing in a queue waiting to get a dosa with her sister. Her parents say she would choose a dosa over a burger any time. The credit goes to her father who, during the pandemic, innovated varieties of dosa when restaurants were closed.
Rhea Bharadwaj waiting to get a dosa at the India Food Festival, held March 16.
Rhea Bharadwaj told indica she likes the avocado and chocolate dosa her dad makes and was enjoying the India Food Festival, held Mar 16 as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, celebrating 75 years of India’s independence. The festival was hosted jointly by India’s consulate in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley-based Shastha Foods.
China has lashed out at the United States for ordering its consulate staff to leave the locked-down city of Shanghai, accusing officials of "weaponizing" the financial hub's failing attempt to contain the spread of Covid-19.
On Monday, the US State Department "ordered" the departure of non-emergency employees and their families from the city of 25 million "due to a surge in Covid-19 cases and the impact of restrictions related to (China's) response," according to a statement on its website.
The notice came just days after the State Department authorized the "voluntary departure" of staff from Shanghai. A travel advisory also urges Americans to "reconsider travel" to all of China, citing stringent Covid restrictions including "the risk of parents and children being separated."
China's most populous city has been laboring under a chaotic and uncompromising citywide lockdown for weeks, with many residents unable to access basic goods including food and medical care.
China's Foreign Ministry has notified the US it "firmly opposes" the consulate order, ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in a news briefing on Tuesday.
"We express strong dissatisfaction with the politicization and weaponization of evacuations by the US," Zhao said, adding that the US was "smearing China."
Zhao also defended China's Covid prevention and control policies as "scientific and effective," insisting the government had "every confidence in bringing the new wave of Covid-19 under control" despite rising case numbers.
The financial hub reported more than 26,000 new locally transmitted cases on Monday, the sixth consecutive day over 20,000, according to China's National Health Commission (NHC). So far, more than 320,000 cases have been reported across 31 provinces -- including those in Shanghai -- since March 1.
Zhao's assertion stands in stark contrast to more somber messages from other Chinese officials, including the NHC deputy director Lei Zhenglong, who on Tuesday warned Shanghai's outbreak has "not been effectively contained."
He added that the outbreak had since spread to many provinces, and that the number of new infections is expected to remain high in the coming days.
Lockdown frustrations
Shanghai's lockdown has been mired in controversy and dysfunction since it was first introduced, seemingly with little warning, on March 29.
Public anger has been exacerbated by stories of parents being separated from their infected children, even toddlers, under Shanghai's rules on isolation, and of a pet corgi being killed by Covid prevention workers after its owner was placed into quarantine.
Videos circulating online show protests breaking out last week at a residential complex in southwestern Shanghai, with residents confronting police at the gate and shouting, "Give us supplies."
CNN was not able to independently verify the images or reach local authorities for comment.
Social media posts show rising desperation as well, with one recent video showing a mother begging for medication for her child from neighbors at midnight in Shanghai. "Do you have medicine for fever? My child has fever. Is anyone home? Excuse me, sorry to bother you! Everyone! Is anyone awake?" the mother can be heard crying in the video.
Since the start of pandemic, China has tightened rules around selling and buying fever medication, requiring a prescription and a negative Covid test.
CNN has geolocated the residential compound in the video to be in Shanghai, but could not independently verify the video and has not identified the mother involved.
In the past week, Shanghai's outbreak has spilled over to nearby cities including Hangzhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang province. Some nearby cities were put under lockdown, including Haining in Zhejiang, and Kunshan in Jiangsu province.
Meanwhile, the southern city of Guangzhou has reported dozens of cases since early April as well, prompting several rounds of mass testing and the closure of schools. Residents have been discouraged from leaving the city, and are required to present a negative PCR test if they want to leave.
On Monday, Shanghai officials began easing measures in neighborhoods that had not reported any positive cases in 14 days. However, authorities warned those residents should only be going out if necessary, get tested twice a week, and that lockdown would be re-imposed if any new cases were detected in the neighborhood. That still leaves the vast majority of the city's 25 million residents under lockdown.
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Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, is believed to have been one of the invading Russian military's first strategic targets. Home to 1.4 million people, it is located less than 20 miles from the Russian border, in northeast Ukraine.
It was approached by Russian troops shortly after the invasion began last Thursday, but for three days, Ukrainian forces held the Russians at bay.
Then, on Sunday, Russian troops entered the city according to the region's governor, Oleh Synehubov.
What happened next offers clues to the fierce resistance Russian soldiers are meeting in Ukraine's towns and cities -- and to why they have not yet advanced as quickly as experts initially feared they would.
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine are eliminating the enemy," Synehubov reassured the residents of Kharkiv that day.
Videos uploaded to social media give a rare glimpse of the clashes on the city's streets.
One sequence of videos uploaded to social media show an attempt by a Russian unit to advance towards an important airfield and arms factory in the northeast of Kharkiv. The airfield, at the Kharkiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Company, is small -- just a single runway -- but might be a useful bridgehead for the Russians.
CNN has geolocated and verified the authenticity of the videos.
The first video, taken by a resident, shows a convoy of Russian troops surrounding military vehicles, creeping along a roadway that ends near the airfield.
"There are two [military vehicles] as far as I can see," someone says in the video. "A third one is crawling through with infantry with automatic weapons, getting ready."
Suddenly, gunfire is heard and seen. A Russian soldier kneels quickly and fires a shoulder-launched rocket towards the area where the gunfire appears to be coming from.
A second video, taken after the firefight, shows the military vehicles reversing in an apparent retreat. The Russian troops are seen huddled behind their vehicles.
A Reuters journalist who went to the location after the firefight shot video showing one of the Russian vehicles from the military convoy abandoned and a significant amount of blood staining the snow on the ground nearby.
The Reuters journalist spoke with a resident, identified as Yevgeniy, who told them that at least one Russian soldier had been killed there.
"After we've killed this one the others run away," Yevgeniy told Reuters, pointing to a patch of blood in the snow. He tells the journalist there were between 12 and 15 people in the group.
"They won't take Kharkiv," he insists. "They have run back to where they came from. They don't have good navigation you see. Nothing works for them. They came and were hiding behind the houses."
The troops' efforts to retreat appear to have been stopped by another attack. A convoy of vehicles -- of the same type as those seen in the previous clips -- is seen on fire in another video.
"This is how we greet the b*tch Russian army," someone is heard shouting in the video. "Come here and blindfold him. And this will happen to anyone who comes to us here on Kharkiv soil."
It's not possible to say definitively that the Russian trucks seen on fire are the same as those filmed trying to reach the airport, but they are in the same location, are the same type, and bear the same markings.
Another video apparently taken later at the site of the abandoned military convoy -- the vehicles are no longer on fire -- shows Ukrainian troops engaging.
Amid the firefight, a Ukrainian soldier steps out from the wall and is seen firing a shoulder-launched rocket.
Watching the video, retired Gen. Mark Hertling, national security and military analyst for CNN, said the Ukrainian unit was equipped with rocket-propelled grenades.
"You see that force, that small squad there of about 10 guys, the guy up furthest away from us is repeatedly firing rocket-propelled grenades, he's fired by my count about five of them, he is handing off the launcher to another guy, they are reloading and he is ready to shoot again," he said.
"And everybody else, you look at the cool, calm, collected approach by these soldiers under fire, they're not afraid, they're ready to kick some butt," he added.
Later, another video shows Ukrainian troops around the convoy, appearing to rummage through the abandoned vehicles. Sporadic gunfire is heard and some Ukrainian forces move along a wall in the background.
During the early hours of Thursday, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, announced on television that he had decided “to carry out a special military operation” in Ukraine. Shortly afterwards, explosions were reported across the country but this is unlikely to devolve into World War lll as some have feared.
An analysis of the previous World Wars indicates that some of the precipitators of a global conflict are missing in this instance, even if the mad impulses that drove the world into a global warfare are still animating the hearts of men decades later.
Analysts cite the restraint of global powers employing sanctions rather than retaliatory action, the influence of NATO, the major powers’ capacity to cause nuclear destruction and the economic consequence of a global war as possible restraints.
“In the realm of possibility, there could be a miscalculation on the part of the actors that could lead to a broader war. You may not have a world war, but it could lead to Europe and interested parties engaged in prolonged skirmish,” notes Onyekachi Adekoya, a fellow of Nigeria Institute of Industrial Security.
“But really nobody wants war,” he says.
Unlike the last world war, the major powers are not rousing their parliaments to declare war on the aggressor.
Following Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Both countries have earlier signed a pact guaranteeing military support to Poland. Even then, before Hitler could invade Poland, it had to make sure Russia would stay out of the fray, offering Russia a piece of Poland.
In this case, the United States, France, Germany, and Britain have not risen to defend Ukraine, they are offering cash and weapons while running out of ideas on new sanctions for Russia.
The economic sanctions are designed to hurt. It is targeting financial institutions, members of Russia’s governments and political class, assets and even the Nord Stream II gas pipeline. These include travel restrictions, asset freezes, constraining ability to access financial markets in the West and trade restrictions.
However, Russia has a buffer of $630 billion in foreign reserves, huge reserves of oil and gas, access to the Chinese market, the world’s second-largest economy, and is still selling weapons to India. Russia may yet be inured to the effect of sanctions.
Besides, “Putin is banking on sanctions equally affecting Western countries even more than it affects Russia,” says Eyo Ekpo, a former commissioner for NERC and global affairs commentator.
Some say Putin’s nostalgia for a new Soviet Empire is driving this incursion into Ukraine. Kurt Volker, former US representative for Ukraine negotiations, notes in an article for the Centre for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) that within 21 years in office, Putin has rebuilt the Russian military, modernised and expanded Russia’s nuclear arsenal, revived and expanded Russian intelligence services and activities, took control of Russian media outlets, consolidated state industries, and crippled political opposition to his United Russia party and made elections easily rigged.
Ekpo says Russia has been preparing for this for the past 20 years. He studied the behaviour of Western leaders very well and waited for until the only person that could stand up to him – Angela Markel – left the scene before he moved on to Ukraine.
Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Union stretched from the Baltic and Black seas to the Pacific Ocean and, in its final years, consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics.
December 2021 makes it 30 years since the Soviet Union was dissolved and President Putin still bears a grudge. He once described that as “the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th Century.” He is deeply resentful that the Cold War ended with Moscow losing territory, influence, and an empire.
But Adekoya says the issues are more nuanced. Putin does not seek to occupy Ukraine. “The gambit may be to control the Black Sea as indicated by the regions it has carved out of Ukraine – Donetsk and Lugansk, and it does not want NATO on its door much like the US would not want Mexico in a military alliance with Russia,” he states.
Ikemesit Effiong, head of research at SBM Intelligence, an Afr
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Former President Jimmy Carter said Thursday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine violates international law and "threatens security" in Europe and around the globe, joining the other living former Presidents in condemning the Kremlin's attack on its neighbor.
"Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine using military and cyber weapons violates international law and the fundamental human rights of the Ukrainian people," Carter said in a statement posted on Twitter. "I condemn this unjust assault on the sovereignty of Ukraine that threatens security in Europe and the entire world, and I call on President Putin to halt all military action and restore peace."
The US and allies, the former President said, "must stand with the people of Ukraine in support of their right to peace, security, and self-determination."
Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine early Thursday, sending troops into the ex-Soviet nation from three fronts and firing missiles on several locations near the capital, Kyiv, in a broad attack that has drawn deep condemnation from world leaders. In the US, President Joe Biden unveiled harsh new sanctions meant to punish Moscow for its full-scale invasion, and his predecessors joined in castigating Russia's move.
Carter is widely revered as a US President who took a special interest in foreign policy and championed human rights. Speaking at the University of Notre Dame's 1977 commencement ceremony, Carter defined his outlook on foreign policy by saying: "Our policy is based on an historical vision of America's role. Our policy is derived from a larger view of global change. Our policy is rooted in our moral values, which never change. Our policy is reinforced by our material wealth and by our military power. Our policy is designed to serve mankind."
Former US Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton shared Carter's sentiments, condemning the invasion in their own statements on Thursday.
"The American government and people must stand in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as they seek freedom and the right to choose their own future. We cannot tolerate the authoritarian bullying and danger that Putin poses," Bush said in his statement.
Obama called for bipartisan support of Biden's sanctions, saying,"There may be some economic consequences to such sanctions, given Russia's significant role in world energy markets. But that's a price we should be willing to pay to take a stand on the side of freedom."
Clinton said that "the world will hold Russia and Russia alone accountable, both economically and politically, for its brazen violation of international law."
On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump called Russia's military operation in Ukraine "a very sad thing for the world" and claimed in a Fox interview that it wouldn't have happened during his administration. But speaking to a conservative radio show on Tuesday hosted by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, Trump had hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's dismembering of independent, democratic, sovereign Ukraine as an act of "genius."
South Korea may have clinched its first gold medal at Beijing 2022 last week, but the success came amid tensions with China over alleged cultural appropriation and "biased judgments" during the Winter Olympics.
In recent years, relations between the two countries have been tense both politically and culturally and this year's Games have caused further flashpoints.
During the opening ceremony, a woman on stage appeared to be wearing a traditional Korean hanbok dress, which South Koreans have long been irked about, deeming China to be passing off South Korean culture as its own.
On the following day, South Korea's ruling Democratic Party released a statement criticizing China and demanding it stops "stealing" its "culture."
South Korean people also expressed their outrage online.
"I'm mad that they've introduced a person wearing hanbok on an international Olympic stage as a Chinese person! I'm mad that they are introducing Korean culture as Chinese to the world," one wrote on Twitter.
The Chinese Embassy in Seoul said on Wednesday that China is composed of 56 ethnic groups, and it is "not only their wish but also their right" to wear ethnic clothes during the Games.
"The Korean ethnic group in China and the North and South of the Korean Peninsula are of the same origin and share a common traditional culture, including clothing," the embassy said.
"The so-called 'cultural project' and 'cultural appropriation' are completely untenable."
It's not the first time there has been a cultural war between the two countries. Last year, there was a row over South Korea's traditional food of kimchi.
South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued guidelines which stipulated that Xinqi is to be the new, official Chinese name for kimchi.
The guidelines, implemented with the aim of differentiating Korean kimchi from Chinese fermented vegetables -- pao cai — kicked off a wave of heated debates among media and citizens of both countries.
Further adding to the recent tension, South Koreans have been angry by what some deem to be unfair officiating during this month's games.
On February 7, two South Korean speed skaters -- Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo -- received penalties after finishing first and second in their respective semifinal groups of the 1,000m short track event.
Hwang was disqualified for making an illegal late pass that caused contact, and Lee for changing lanes which also caused contact.
The penalties allowed two skaters to qualify for the final, which coincidentally were from China.
Chinese skaters Ren Ziwei and Li Wenlong eventually won the gold and silver medal in the final, while Hungary's Shaoang Liu took the bronze.
Shaolin Liu, the brother of the bronze medalist and a speed skater himself, had finished first but was ruled out for receiving two yellow cards after a review.
Both South Korea and Hungary inquired about the referee's judgments, but the International Skating Union (ISU) said it "stands by his [the Video Referee] final decisions."
Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) said the Korean delegation will file a petition to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The chairman of the committee Lee Kee-heung also had a virtual talk with the ISU president Jan Dijkema on Wednesday to "strongly protest" against the "biased judgments" seen at the short track event, KSOC said in a statement.
Head of the South Korean athletic delegation Yoon Hong-geun said on Tuesday that the South Korean people have asked the athletes to come back home after the alleged unfair ruling.
But he said athletes will do their best to bring "more tears and more joy" during the remaining events.
Subsequently South Korea's Hwang did deliver some joy as he navigated his way through a large, chaotic field to win the men's 1,500m and secure South Korea's first short track medal at Beijing 2022.
"I was frustrated when I was knocked out of the 1,000m but I thought I got the penalty because I didn't race clean enough," Hwang told the official Beijing 2022 media site on Thursday.
"I don't think there was any influence due to the rivalry (between the Koreans and Chinese) in the judge's decision. Today, we raced clean, it was part of our strategy."
Nonetheless people from South Korea have been voicing their opinions online about Monday's 1,000m short track semifinals.
The hashtags "if it's going to be like this" and "do the Olympics just among yourselves" started trending on Twitter in South Korea.
"Why are we doing this Olympics, it's not bringing the world together at all," a South Korean tweeted.
Hwang's Instagram comment sections quickly filled with both supporting and hate messages -- including flags of both countries.
South Korean politicians also commented about what had happened on Monday.
The Ruling Democratic Party's floor leader Yun Ho-jung said he couldn't sleep due to anger, while People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo called for China to "immediately cancel its dirty judgment," claiming gold medals were stolen.
"If China invites people from all over the world and undermines the Olympic spirit and pursues its own interests only, the Winter Olympics will end as China's poor local feast for the poor family of China, not a festival for the people of the world," he wrote on Facebook.
The Chinese Embassy in Seoul released a statement on Wednesday expressing "serious concern" over South Korean media and politicians stirring up "anti-China sentiment."
"The judges of each event are selected by the IOC and the International Sports Federations. No country or government has the right to interfere," reads the statement.
In response to the Chinese statement, South Korean Foreign Ministry said that foreign diplomatic missions should be "prudent" while respecting the host nation's situations and sentiment when publicly commenting on the host nation's news media and politician comments.
While Hwang won gold in the 1,500m on Wednesday, China's Ren Ziwei got disqualified in the semifinal.
The Chinese Embassy also released a separate statement, congratulating Hwang on winning his country's first gold in Beijing on its social media, saying that they "hope that athletes from China and South Korea will make great achievements in the Beijing Winter Olympics."
As well as cultural clashes, tensions between China and South Korea have also been present in the political sphere.
In 2017, the diplomatic relationship between China and South Korea was tested by the North Korea crisis after the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) defence system, which became fully operational in September.
Beijing was strongly opposed to that deployment, set in motion by Moon Jae-in's predecessor, impeached President Park Geun-hye.
China appeared to show its displeasure, with a 50% drop in Chinese tourists travelling to South Korea.
A South Korean car-maker and a supermarket chain also experienced a drop in their sales in China in the months after the THAAD announcement.
Professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy Kim Han-kwon told Yonhap News Agency that China's strengthened "patriotic and nationalist ideology education" has increased pride in their culture and system, which is bound to grow conflicts with countries that have a wide range of cultural sharing like South Korea.
He added that China is likely to continue such education, which could lead to unintended cultural conflicts with South Korea "over a considerable period of time."
Kim said that since last year there has been a trend from China to strengthen friendly cooperation with neighboring countries, which he said Korea should make good use of to clarify its values to China while avoiding cultural conflicts unintended by the two governments.
This year marks 30th anniversary of the establishment of South Korea and China's diplomatic relations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin set Russian media abuzz Tuesday following his news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The subject of Putin's remarks? The Minsk agreements, a ceasefire protocol signed by Ukraine and Russia in 2015, and whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could abide by them. But it was Putin's coarse language, rather than the technical details of the truce that generated the most clicks in Russia.
"As for the Minsk agreements, are they alive and do they have any prospect or not?" Putin said. "I believe that there is simply no other alternative. I repeat once again, in Kyiv, they either say that they will comply, or they say that this will destroy their country. The incumbent president recently stated that he does not like a single point of these Minsk agreements. 'Like it or don't like it, it's your duty, my beauty.' They must be fulfilled. It won't work otherwise."
Once again, Putin has given the world a sense of his soul. The Kremlin leader's position on the Minsk agreement is not new. But his crude vernacular -- addressing Zelensky in condescending and gendered language -- left some Russian journalists wondering openly if the president was, in essence, making a crude joke.
Asked in a conference call with reporters if those remarks might be "hinting at a sexual subtext," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov gave an anodyne response. "The president meant that if a state committed to certain obligations, if there is a signature of the head of state [under them], then these commitments must be fulfilled," he said.
A reporter pressed further: Was Putin, perhaps, familiar with the work of a Russian-language folk-punk band that apparently had a line similar to Putin's in one of their songs? Peskov gave a firm no.
"I am quite convinced that Vladimir Putin is not familiar with the work of this group," he said. "And I suspect that perhaps at some point this group might have borrowed it [the line] from Russian folklore."
Folklore or not, the remark laid bare Putin's bullysome attitude toward Ukraine, which the president has made clear he doesn't see as a real country. And it was also reminder of a strain of unrepentant misogyny in both Putin's politics and his public remarks.
For starters, the talk about forcing a "beauty" lie back and take abuse is coming from the same person who, exactly five years ago, decriminalized forms of domestic violence.
Putin's trash talk pops again and again, and has reportedly included making light of rape.
The Russian leader's tough-guy talk is sometimes explained away as a sort of folksiness that is a performance for a domestic audience, but Putin's choice of verb терпеть in his remarks on Monday (to take it, or to endure) shows an ugly underlying sentiment about the role of women.
Asked about Putin's remarks, Zelensky reformulated the Russian leader's words in a language Putin would understand.
"Of course, there are some things we can't argue about with the president of the Russian Federation," Zelensky said. "Ukraine is a beauty. As far as 'my' is concerned, that's a slight overstatement."
Regarding the line about being dutiful and taking it, Zelensky added, "I think Ukraine is very patient. Because that's wisdom. I think that's important not just for Ukraine, but for all of Europe."
It's not the first time Putin has used such language. One of his most famous quotes dates back to 1999, when he was still prime minister, when he vowed to crush Chechen separatists, saying, "If they're on the toilet, we will waste them out in the outhouse."
The same applies to the current crisis. When he discards the diplomatic language, Putin speaks that we may see him.
