No wonder the column – which was actually dedicated to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan – caused a worldwide sensation. Only: Friedman, who has been writing about US foreign policy for more than 20 years and is considered to be very well informed, does not name any specific sources for his statements. He quotes “high-ranking US officials” and sometimes refers to “personal conversations”.
It is therefore difficult to assess how credible the information is. In any case, no one in Kyiv wants to hear about a crisis in relations between Ukraine and the United States. Mykhailo Podolyak, one of President Zelenskyy’s advisors, told the Tagesspiegel that there were no differences between the two governments. In fact, the advisors, ministers and general staffs of the two countries sometimes spend hours in virtual meetings with each other to exchange views on the course of the war and to discuss how to proceed.
On the other hand: According to everything that is known, China has not actually delivered any weapons to Moscow for the Ukraine war. And this despite the fact that Xi calls Putin his “best friend and colleague”. According to Friedman, Biden allegedly threatened Xi with breaking off economic relations with the US and the EU if he sided with Russia militarily. China seems to be more interested in the economic impact of foreign policy than Moscow.
1. The calm before the storm: Now the Ukrainians can fight again like at the beginning of the war
2. Hanging game between Berlin and Moscow: How a gas turbine could become a bone of contention
3. Russia protects much-needed supply route with “Phantom Bridge”
