Billionaire investor George Soros says there is an alliance between China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Davos:
Billionaire investor George Soros has warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be the start of World War III and that civilization could not survive in this war.
He added that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are bound by an alliance that has no boundaries.
In his annual speech in Davos on Tuesday, George Soros said the world must mobilize all resources to end the war early and that the best and perhaps only way to save civilization is to defeat Vladimir Putin as soon as possible.
“The invasion could be the start of World War III and our civilization could not survive in it,” he said.
He added that the aggression in Ukraine had not come out of the blue and that Putin had already informed Shik about it.
Mr Soros noted that Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 4 and issued a lengthy statement declaring that there was “no limit” to their cooperation.
Vladimir Putin has informed Xi Jinping of a “special military operation” in Ukraine, but it is not clear if he told Xi Jinping that he had launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine with that in mind, Soros said.
“Military experts from the United States and the United Kingdom have certainly told their Chinese counterparts what is there. Shi has approved, but told Putin to wait until the end of the Winter Olympics,” he said.
“On his part, Xi decided to host the Olympics, which had just begun to take shape in China. The organizers tried hard to create an air-bubble for the competitors, and the Olympics ended without a hitch,” he said.
Xi Jinping is a criminal hiding place. He never told the Chinese people that they had been vaccinated with a vaccine that was designed for the original Wuhan variant and offered little protection against the new form, Mr Soros claimed.
Meanwhile, Mr Soros said that Vladimir Putin’s so-called “special military operation” was not published as planned.
He hoped that his army would be welcomed by the Russian-speaking people of Ukraine as a savior. His soldiers took their uniforms with them for a victory parade but that did not happen, he added.
He says Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have a lot in common, they rule with fear and as a result they make mistakes.
“Putin is expected to be welcomed in Ukraine as a liberator; Xi Jinping is sticking to a zero-sum policy that is probably unsustainable,” he added.
Although Putin appears to have made a terrible mistake when he invaded Ukraine and now appears to be preparing the ground for a ceasefire, the ceasefire is unacceptable because he cannot be trusted, Soros claims.
In addition, Mr Soros said Putin would have to start peace talks which he would never do because it would be tantamount to resignation.
Mr Soros said Xi Jinping was forced to fail because allowing Putin to launch a failed attack on Ukraine did not serve China’s best interests.
“China should be a senior partner in the alliance with Russia, but Xi Jinping’s lack of determination allows Putin to occupy that position. But Shir’s worst mistake was to double down on his zero-sum policy,” he said.
“Contrary to popular expectation, Xi Jinping may not get his coveted third term because of his mistakes. But if he does, the Politburo will not give him a free hand to elect the next Politburo member. Reduce his power and influence and reduce it.” The day he becomes ruler for life, “he added.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)
