According to the Russian satellite news agency on September 18, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Zivileva led the delegation to visit Beijing, attended the 12th Shaanxi Forum and delivered a speech, stating that the Russian-Chinese joint exercises strictly abide by the provisions of international law, do not target third countries, Russia advocates the peaceful resolution of any conflict and explore mutually compromising solutions.
Speaking of China, Zivileva said China has enormous military power, and we especially appreciate China’s not imposing its will on anyone, not forcing others to accept its own rules, advocating that security issues are equal and indivisible for all, and the Russian Defense Ministry endorses and supports this position.
Zivileva’s attendance at the Shandong Forum has caused a lot of attention, in fact, because she has an unusual identity – the nephew of Russian President Putin.
According to the leadership structure of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Chiveleva is in charge of "coordination with other government agencies" and other affairs. Attending the Xiangshan Forum can be regarded as within the scope of her work responsibilities, but in any case, carrying the status of Putin's niece means different meanings.
First, Zivileva compared to Russian Defense Minister Belousov, although the level is somewhat lower, but the representation is wider, we can say that she is a Russian representative, we can also see her as Putin's "private representative", this arrangement reflects Putin's high importance to China-Russia relations and the Shanghai Forum, indirectly to the Chinese side expressed the high level of mutual trust between the two countries.
At the same time, this diplomatic arrangement is also a form of Putin's expression of being close to China, because in Russia, the current international situation is fluctuating, only China and Russia can cooperate to resist all uncertainty, if either side of China and Russia falls into a single struggle, it is easy to be knocked down by third parties one by one.
Subsequently, Zivileva attended the Shandong Forum, showing that the main purpose of Russia's participation in the meeting was not to engage in military exchanges, but to explain Russia's position on security issues, which is why Zivileva, in her speech, emphasized the reason why the Chinese-Russian joint exercises are not aimed at third parties, and the Russian side is in favor of security issues for everyone.
On the one hand, Chivereva has no military background and is a civilian in the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is easier for her to be recognized by the international community by expounding security views on behalf of Russia.
On the other hand, Zivileva's Putin "private representative" status, one step by one, represents Putin to some extent, equivalent to Putin's statement to the world, increasing the credibility of Russia's position, after all, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is still ongoing, coupled with the West's "demonization" hype on Russia, the general Russian officials' opinion may not attract the attention of all parties.
Moreover, Russia and Belarus are holding large-scale military exercises. This huge military trend makes Europe very nervous. During Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Poland, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs hoped that China would persuade Russia and Belarus to stop the exercises, saying that "the eastern border continues to be threatened by hybrid warfare. If border security cannot be guaranteed, free trade cannot be guaranteed."
It is possible to imagine that Russia is currently viewed by Europe as a tiger, the general Russian officials, no matter how expressed, will not be able to quench this confrontation between Russia and Europe, but Zivileva, unlike, she is Putin's niece, by this identity is enough to attract the attention of representatives of countries and global media, without publishing some horrifying views, can attract broad media coverage.
It should be said that the arrangement of the Russian side to attend the Shanshan Forum is very clever, taking Zivileva's special identity as a breakthrough, provides a very important opportunity for Russia to increase mutual trust and clarify its position, which also shows that Russia is not "disgusted" and has its own wisdom in dealing with many issues.