Vladimir Putin has negotiated with Chinese President Xi Jinping to guarantee his safety if he is removed from power, Ukraine believes.
It is suspected that if he were impeached, the Russian leader would be hiding in China with a non-extradition agreement, meaning China would not send him abroad to face charges of war crimes committed during his invasion.
Xi visited Moscow and met his despotic Russian counterpart last week, with the pair professing friendship and pledging closer ties as Putin’s forces continue to struggle to make a profit in what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Full details of their talks at the summit have not been released, but the meeting is widely seen as China offering its support to Putin as Western countries – such as the US, UK, Germany and other NATO allies – unite behind Ukraine.
Some analysts have also interpreted the meeting as a demonstration that Xi has more power in the relationship, with Beijing helping to save Russia from Western sanctions imposed on Moscow’s economy after the invasion.
Now, according to a ministerial adviser in Ukraine, it is believed that one of the talking points at the summit was that Putin would lose power.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, tweeted today that this was probably one of the “key negotiating topics” between Putin and Xi during their meetings last week.
If Putin were impeached, Gerashchenko said the deal would see the Russian leader escape to China, with a non-extradition agreement.
The report of the deal comes after Putin was indicted earlier this month by the International Criminal Court for illegally deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.
“It is likely that one of the main topics of negotiation between Putin and Xi Jinping was guarantees of Putin’s personal safety in the event of his loss of power, possible shelter for him in China, and non-extradition to an international tribunal,” Gerashchenko wrote.
Despite public discord being rare in Russia due to draconian anti-freedom of speech laws, there have been reports of dissatisfaction with Putin’s leadership.
