Estonia urges China to stop supporting Russia and to pressure Putin

During his visit to China, Tsahkna urged Beijing not to support Russia economically and to join the efforts of the US and Europe in ending the war. He discussed the situation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"China says that they are not part of this military conflict, but I was very clear that China has huge leverage over Russia, every week more and more, because the Russian economy is weak," the minister told the publication about the meeting.

Tsahkna noted that discussions on pressuring Russia and trade issues were central to the meeting. The minister expressed hope that China, by pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin, could do a lot to help end the war in Ukraine.

"President Trump said as well that this pressure (on Russia) is very important, that China should join. And I think that China can do a lot if it joined the pressure on Russia to finish the war," he said.

Additionally, Tsahkna raised with his Chinese counterpart the issue of supplying Russia with critically important dual-use components for its military industry. China traditionally claims that it supposedly does not supply such goods and strictly controls the export of dual-use items.

Recently, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited China. During his visit to Beijing, he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Officially, it was reported that the sides allegedly agreed on new "joint projects" in energy, space, and high technology.

Media note that China plays a significant role in sustaining Russia’s ability to wage war in Ukraine — specifically, Beijing buys oil from Russia and supplies critically important components. Meanwhile, Russia has recently been increasingly turning into a resource base for China.