Shooting down Pelosi's plane: Putin ally wanted to escalate the Taiwan conflict
Created: 08/05/2022, 12:14 p.m
By: Jan-Frederik Wendt
Taiwan-China conflict: A Putin hardliner spoke out in favor of shooting down Pelosi's plane (symbolic photo).
© Wang Guosong/dpa
Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has heightened tensions between China and the US.
A Putin ally wanted to escalate the conflict completely.
According to Aleksey Zhuravlyov, it would have been "good" for Russia if China had shot down the plane carrying US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her visit to Taiwan.
This is what President Vladimir Putin's ally said on Russian television,
newsweek.com
reports.
Zhuravlyov is a member of the Russian State Duma and leader of the nationalist Rodina party, which supports Putin.
"It would be important to us if that plane was either intercepted or shot down," Zhuravlyov said of Pelosi's plane, according to
newsweek.com
.
This would amount to a "second front" for Russia, which the Russian politician would approve of.
No matter how the Taiwan-China conflict develops: "We will definitely win," said Zhuravlyov, according to the British newspaper
Daily Mirror
.
The whole world understands that only Russia can oppose the United States.
China had condemned Pelosi's visit to Taiwan
Pelosi was the senior US president to visit Taiwan in a quarter of a century.
China had sharply condemned this step and repeatedly threatened "consequences" for the United States.
When Pelosi went on her trip despite warnings, China announced "targeted" military action in response.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of wanting to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait with the missile tests and military exercises.
Pelosi landed on the island on Tuesday and departed on Wednesday (August 3).
China and Taiwan: That's what the conflict is about
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The communist leadership in Beijing rejects such official contacts with Taiwan because they claim the island for themselves.
China sees self-governing Taiwan as part of the People's Republic and threatens to conquer it.
The 23 million Taiwanese, on the other hand, see themselves as independent.
Pelosi stressed Tuesday (August 2) that her visit "in no way conflicts with long-standing United States policy" regarding Taiwan.
Russia has condemned Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and pledged its support to China amid rising tensions with the US.
Meanwhile, China has imposed sanctions on Pelosi.
(Jan Wendt)
