RUSSIA - They were once sworn communist rivals but North Korea’s escalating tensions with the US has brought China and Russia closer together in order to stamp out the threat of an imploding nuclear war. Ex-Russian ambassador Tony Brenton told Express.co.uk Vladimir Putin’s nation will speak with a single voice alongside old rival China to oppress America.
Determined to keep a check on Donald Trump’s ambitions in their backyards, Mr Brenton said Russia would “stay close” to Beijing in order to put pressure on America to back down against Kim Jong-un’s warmongering regime. Mr Brenton said: “We are a long way from a real resolution.
“Russia certainly won’t want war between the US and North Korea. The Russians don’t like the fact North Korea acquired nuclear weapons. They will be keen to find a process to stop this position. They don’t want America to step in and throw the regime off and reignite a Korean War.
“Russia and China both share a border with North Korea, it’s an unattractive prospect. They will work together to get the temperature down by oppressing America.” Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping last month issued a joint statement in Moscow, where both called for a common peace plan for the peninsula and together condemned US militarisation in the region.