China seizes chance to play peacemaker before US poll; Poland’s Sikorski slams Orbán’s ‘selfishness’

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the “selfishness” of Hungary’s leader in dealing with European Union partners had left the country isolated and weakened, the latest sign of a widening diplomatic rift.

The Pentagon isn’t giving Congress and the public a full assessment of its difficulties and challenges in developing hypersonic weapons to counter those already deployed by China and Russia, according to congressional auditors.

China seizes chance to play peacemaker in Ukraine before US poll

President Xi Jinping is stepping up efforts to position himself as a peacemaker for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite growing criticisms from the US and Europe that Beijing is propping up the Kremlin’s battlefield efforts.

With both Moscow and Kyiv facing pressure at home and abroad to find a way to end the war, China last week hosted its first senior official from Ukraine since the conflict began in 2022. While Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba the time was “not yet ripe” for peace talks, he said both sides were signalling a willingness to negotiate.

Beijing followed up that outreach on Sunday by dispatching its special envoy Li Hui to Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia to “build up conditions to resume peace talks” — countries that have also skipped imposing US-led sanctions on Russia.

The flurry of activity underscores Xi’s ambition to forge a bigger diplomatic role at a time when Kyiv — and the broader European region — are bracing for a dramatic shift in foreign policy from their most important ally. Republican candidate Donald Trump has vowed to end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours” if he wins the US election, while his vice-presidential candidate, JD Vance, has been critical of support to Kyiv.

China hasn’t shifted position but sees a window to establish itself as a more powerful player, said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, adding that negotiations could take place as soon as this year.

“China is positioning itself for later rounds of talks,” he added, noting that departing President Joe Biden could also seek a deal to secure his foreign policy legacy. “Beijing wants its own share of the success and to position itself to play a constructive role and be celebrated for that.”

Beijing’s outreach comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government announced it was open to Russian leader Vladimir Putin attending a second peace summit it’s targeting before the US vote in November — a condition for Beijing’s attendance. While Xi has been touted as a potential negotiator for his ties with leaders on both sides, Beijing’s support for Russia has cast a long shadow over his government’s claims of neutrality.

Xi is working to bolster his peacemaker credentials in regions where Washington has traditionally played a larger role, as the world’s biggest economies jostle for global influence — a mission that has united China and Russia. Last year, Beijing surprised Washington by presiding over the closing of a detente between long-time rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Ukrainian foreign minister Kuleba’s visit came as Beijing gathered Palestinian rival factions to sign an agreement to establish an interim reconciliation government. While that deal — dubbed the “Beijing Declaration” by the Chinese side — lacked details for how deeply divided adversaries such as Hamas and Fatah would work together, it signalled Beijing’s rising influence abroad.

“China will play a more important role in peace negotiations, in peacemaking and talking — not just in the Middle East and Ukraine but even globally,” said Wang Yiwei, professor of international relations at Renmin University.

That’s because the Global South bloc of developing nations increasingly trusts Beijing’s approach to diplomacy, which vows not to interfere with domestic affairs, he added. Ukraine would see China’s endorsement of any peace plan as a sign of Russian commitment, Wang said.

Poland’s Sikorski slams Orbán’s ‘selfishness’ in escalating row

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the “selfishness” of Hungary’s leader in dealing with European Union partners had left the country isolated and weakened, the latest sign of a widening diplomatic rift.

In an interview with the online magazine Visegrad Insight, Sikorski said “Hungary didn’t have support for its position” when it sought the EU’s help last week to broker a solution with Ukraine over halted Russian oil supplies. Kyiv effectively barred transit of crude from Lukoil, potentially exposing Hungary to fuel shortages as early as September.

“They appear isolated when it is they who are asking for solidarity from Europe on the issue of oil supplies,” Sikorski said in the interview published on Monday. “They don’t receive this solidarity because it’s difficult to win friends if someone exudes selfishness.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has revelled in his role as a disruptor in Europe, holding up the EU’s budget, blocking aid for Ukraine and regularly suggesting life outside the EU might be better.

Pentagon ‘holding back on problems with hypersonic weapons’  

The Pentagon isn’t giving Congress and the public a full assessment of its difficulties and challenges in developing hypersonic weapons to counter those already deployed by China and Russia, according to congressional auditors.

Despite test failures with air force and army systems that were supposed to become operational already, the Pentagon “is not comprehensively communicating and reporting to Congress its progress on managing risks”, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released on Monday. “Reporting comprehensive information would enable Congress to better understand and oversee” the programmes.

The US has spent about $12-billion since 2018 on hypersonic weapons development, and although “there has been considerable progress”, the Pentagon “has yet to field its first operational” system, the GAO said in the audit that focused largely on the military’s failure to employ modern digital engineering tools to advance the development of the weapons.

Hypersonic weapons are hard to track and destroy because they fly at five times the speed of sound and are highly manoeuvrable.

Read more: China leads the US, Russia in hypersonics, says Pentagon analyst

Russia’s use of hypersonic weapons against Ukraine and China’s deployment of at least one weapon, the DF-17, are in contrast to the US’s failed efforts. The White House and Nato this month announced plans to rotate into Germany by 2026 a US Army unit equipped with the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon, a plan that drew a heated reaction from Moscow.

The GAO report disclosed the projected costs for the top hypersonic programmes in development, including a $10.3-billion price tag for the army system and $30-billion for a navy weapon called the Conventional Prompt Strike.

Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 plant cut runs to five-month low amid sanctions

Russia’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas in June cut processing at its Arctic LNG 2 facility to the lowest level since February, after US sanctions curtailed export options.

The Novatek-led plant, processed slightly more than eight million cubic metres of gas last month, according to a person with knowledge of industry data. That’s nearly half of the runs in May, a comparison with past figures shows.

While the data don’t specify that the volumes were liquefied, similar information for Novatek’s operational Yamal LNG project would suggest that’s the case.

Novatek didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia’s LNG industry has become a target of Western sanctions as the US and its allies work to reduce the Kremlin’s revenue from energy exports amid the war in Ukraine. Arctic LNG 2 had been key to Moscow’s plans to triple production of the super-chilled fuel by the end of the decade.

The US first sanctioned the plant last November. Since then, it has imposed curbs on other Novatek LNG projects, as well as some tankers designed to export cargoes from Arctic LNG 2. European Union sanctions, set to kick in next year, are intended to limit port access and transhipment options for Russian LNG cargoes. There are signs that Russia may now be amassing a shadow fleet to ship the super-chilled fuel despite the sanctions.

Read more: After oil, Russia may now be building a shadow fleet for gas

Exports from the first train of Arctic LNG 2, which has an annual production capacity of 6.6 million tonnes, were initially scheduled to start in the first quarter of this year, but the Western restrictions have delayed them indefinitely.

However, last week Novatek sent a second production train to the installation site on the Arctic Gydan peninsula, according to Kommersant newspaper. That train, set to have the same capacity as the first, will reach the site in mid-August, even as the future of the facility remains in limbo.

Gas production at the fields that feed Arctic LNG shrank to 34.2 million cubic metres in June, a five-month low, the person said, citing industry data. Some of the produced gas was used for the plant’s own needs, the person said. DM