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stressed on March 26. "This is absolutely untrue," the president said in an interview on the Rossiya-24 TV channel, when asked whether cooperation between Moscow and Beijing posed a threat to the West. "We are not creating any military alliance with China. Yes, we also cooperate on the track of military-technical cooperation, we do not hide it, but it is transparent, there is nothing secret there," Putin said. According to him, Moscow is also developing military cooperation with Beijing, including joint exercises. "By the way, not only with China, but with other countries as well. We even continue it now, despite the developments in Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson. We still continue; it's all transparent, but it's not a military alliance," the president summed up.
Ministry confirms deportation of over 19,000 Ukrainian children to Russia. Russian forces have unlawfully transferred or deported 19,514 Ukrainian children to Russia, violating the Geneva Conventions, the Reintegration Ministry reported on March 28.
Antony Blinken supports Ukraine’s peace proposal. The US supports Ukraine’s peace framework, which demands the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukrainian territory, and opposes alternate proposals that would advantage Moscow, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. According to Bloomberg, the US Secretary of State endorsed Kyiv’s proposal during a virtual session of the Summit for Democracy, where Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba detailed its 10 points. “However, we all must be aware of what may seem to be well-intentioned efforts. For example, to call for cease-fires, which would potentially have the effect of freezing the conflict in place, allowing Russia to consolidate the gains it’s made, and simply use the time to rest and refit and then re-attack,” Blinken said. Ukraine Minister Dmytro Kuleba emphasized that the Ukrainian government and people will not abide partial measures. “Russia has to withdraw from every square inch of Ukrainian territory,” he said.
Russia to chair UN Security Council in April. Russia will lead the UN Security Council in April, AFP News Agency reported on March 30. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the move a "bad joke", adding that the world "can't be a safe place" with Russia as head of the UN Security Council
● Domestic politics
Putin makes surprise visit to Mariupol on March 19. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, Russian state-controlled media claimed, citing the Kremlin’s press service. His visit comes less than two days after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.
The combined wealth of Russia’s billionaires increased by $10.4bn in January–February, according to the Bloomberg billionaires Index (BBI) seen by PRIME on March 1. The index is calculated using capitalization and the
52 RUSSIA Country Report Russia April 2023 www.intellinews.com