US, China Strengthen Communication Channels to Avoid Conflict

On Sunday local time, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said that the United States is trying to strengthen its “communication channels” with China, and is committed to ensuring that competition between the two countries will not evolve into conflict. He also said that the two countries now have different interfaces for consultations on multiple issues, and progress has been made in bringing bilateral relations back on track.

In addition, Blinken also talked about the Russia-Ukraine conflict: Although Ukraine has regained half of the territory that Russia initially captured in the invasion, Kiev faces “a very uphill battle” to win back more territory. “It’s still early days for the counter-offensive, it’s not going to work for the next week or two, I think it’s still months.”

At the same time, media sources just said that the mayor of Moscow, Russia, said that drones attacked two non-residential buildings in Moscow. At the same time, Belarusian President Lukashenko stated that at present, a large number of NATO weapons and mercenaries are involved in the conflict, and the battle is already facing the entire NATO group.

“We’re trying to get some stability in the relationship between the two countries, laying the groundwork for the relationship and making sure that the competition we’re in doesn’t turn into a conflict,” Blinken said in an interview broadcast on CNN on Sunday local time.

“The conflict is not in our interest, their (China’s) interest or anyone else’s interest,” he added.

Blinken visited Beijing last month and was received by high-level Chinese officials. Later, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. climate envoy John Kerry visited China one after another. Last week, Kissinger, a centenarian, visited China and was received by Chinese high-level officials.

“We didn’t have a lot of conversations before. Now we have. We have different groups that are engaging or are about to engage on different issues … these issues, in our relationship, I think we can find solutions,” Blinken said. He emphasized that these consultations are still in the early stages and the results will prove their utility.

He pointed out that the U.S. side has made it very clear, “We believe it is our responsibility to have these military engagements, dialogues, and especially to avoid any miscalculation, any misunderstanding of what we each do.”

Regarding the Russo-Ukrainian war, Blinken said that while Ukraine had retaken half of the territory Russia initially captured in the invasion, Kiev faced “a very uphill battle” to win back more territory. “Approximately 50 per cent of the initial lost ground has been recovered.”

“It’s in the relatively early days of the counteroffensive. It’s tough,” he said. “It’s not going to work for the next week or two. I think it’s still going to be months.”

Ukraine has retaken some villages in the south and territory around the ruins of the city of Bakhmut in the east, but has yet to make a major breakthrough against Russia’s heavily defended lines.

Asked whether Ukraine would get U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, Blinken said he believed it would. “The focus is on making sure that in doing so they are properly trained to maintain the aircraft and use them in a sensible manner.”

The 11-nation coalition will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 in Denmark in August and will open a training center in Romania.

Ukraine has long called for the purchase of Lockheed Martin-made F-16s, but U.S. national security adviser Jack Sullivan said last month that Washington had not yet made a final decision on sending the plane. U.S. officials estimate it will take at least 18 months to train and deliver the aircraft.

The U.S. has provided more than $41 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began.

This morning, news suddenly came that Moscow was attacked again. According to reports from Overseas.com, according to a report on the Russia Today website on July 24, the mayor of Moscow, Russia stated that two non-residential buildings in the city were attacked by drones, causing no casualties. Several pieces of drone debris were found on the street not far from the Ministry of Defense headquarters and emergency services were at work, sources told TASS. Video footage showed multiple police cars and ambulances at the scene.

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement stating that on the morning of July 4, the Kiev authorities used five drones to carry out terrorist attacks on facilities in the Moscow Oblast and Novomoskaya District, which were foiled. Four Ukrainian drones were shot down by the air defense system of the New Moscow District, and another one was intercepted and crashed by the electronic warfare system of the Moscow Region. There were no casualties or losses in the process.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said that the Kiev authorities’ attack on the area where civilian facilities are located, including the airport area that accepts international flights, is another act of terrorism. Zakharova said that Uzbekistan used weapons provided by the West or purchased with Western funds to carry out terrorist attacks, which is international terrorism.

On July 23 local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with visiting Belarusian President Lukashenko in St. Petersburg. Putin said the economies of both countries are in good shape. On the issue of building a union country, all plans of the two countries are being implemented step by step. Putin said Ukraine’s counterattack against Russian forces had failed. Putin also said that the Ukrainian army had lost more than 26,000 people in the counteroffensive.

When talking about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Lukashenko said that at present, a large number of NATO weapons and mercenaries are involved in the conflict, and the battle is already facing the entire NATO group. Putin said foreign mercenaries suffered huge losses in Ukraine, and Russia would announce details. In addition, Lukashenko pointed out that Poland attempted to use NATO’s power to enter western Ukraine and then occupy this area, and this attempt was supported by the United States.