Washington has said the treatment of Glavprodukt, the only U.S. company Moscow has seized, will influence a planned reset of U.S.-Russia relations.

Some U.S. officials talked about an “axis” of authoritarian nations, but the American and Israeli war with Iran has exposed the limits of that idea.

The heads of Russia's Gazprom and China's energy company CNPC discussed future Russian gas supplies to China during talks in Beijing, Gazprom said on Friday, as Moscow seeks stronger ties with the world's biggest energy consumer.

China and Russia’s growing military-technical cooperation aims to preserve strategic stability, but it could have the opposite effect.

Analysts say Beijing is eager to learn from Moscow's combat experience, even as its military capabilities eclipse its Russian ally's

BLAGOVESHCHENSK, RUSSIA - JUNE 10, 2022: A view of the first Russia-China bridge across the Amur River at the Kani-Kurgan-Heihe crossing point on the Russian-Chinese border.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing in February 2022. After that meeting, the leaders declared their commitment to a friendship with “no limits.”

Trump has warned that if any country introduces retaliatory duties, Washington would increase its tariff rates. Tokayev's comments suggest that like other countries, Kazakhstan will seek to get a deal with the U.S. over the line in the next three weeks.

In joint statements, China and Russia insist their relationship is one of non-alignment that doesn’t target any third party. Each also has different geopolitical objectives in the region.