Xi Jinping meets ‘dear friend’ Putin in Moscow to strength alliance against West

Xi Jinping Meet Putin

Xi Jinping meet Putin for the first time since winning an unprecedented third term as Chinese president this month, as Putin seeks to strengthen ties with Russia to confront the West and position China as a potential peacekeeper in Ukraine.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his “good friend” Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, seeking to deepen economic ties with an ally he sees as an effective counterweight to the West and boost Beijing’s role as a potential peacemaker in Ukraine.

Xi Jinping is the first leader to meet the Russian president since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow said the indictment was one of several “clear manifestations of hostility” and opened criminal proceedings against prosecutors and judges at the International Criminal Court. Beijing said the arrest warrant reflected double standards.

Russia is presenting Xi Jinping visit, his first since an unprecedented third term in office this month, as proof that the country has an influential friend with the hostile West. The two met before a Kremlin dinner on Monday afternoon and called each other “dear friends” ahead of formal talks on Tuesday.

Putin told Xi Jinping that he respects China’s proposal to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and is “a little envious” of China’s rapid development in recent decades. “China has built a very efficient system to develop the economy and strengthen the country. It is more efficient than many other countries,” he said. Xi’s visit was a diplomatic tightrope walk.

China came up with a broad 12-point proposal to resolve the Ukraine crisis while strengthening ties with Moscow. Beijing has repeatedly denied Western accusations that it plans to arm Russia, but says it wants a closer energy partnership after increasing imports of Russian coal, gas and oil.

“Both sides have continuously strengthened political mutual trust and created a new paradigm for relations between major countries,” Xi wrote in an article published in Russia ahead of his trip.

Western sanctions have made energy cheaper for Russia and saved China billions of dollars, but its biggest trading partners remain the US and the EU. Ukraine says China should pressure Russia to stop incursions.

“We expect Beijing to use its influence over Moscow to end the war of aggression against Ukraine,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said. Xi said China’s Ukraine peace proposal is an unspecified document released last month that reflects global views.

“There are no simple solutions to complex problems,” he wrote in Russia, a Russian government-run newspaper, according to a Russian translation by Reuters. Western skepticism

United Kingdom

White House spokesman John Kirby echoed the call, adding that US President Joe Biden wants to talk to Xi to keep the lines of communication open. Shortly after Putin signed an “unrestricted” partnership with Xi last year, he sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine to end what he says is a threat to Russia posed by its neighbor’s westward push.

Years of war have left tens of thousands dead, devastated cities and forced millions to flee. The Kremlin said Putin would “clarify in detail” Russia’s position on Xi, without elaborating.

Washington noted that China refused to condemn Russia and gave it an economic lifeline. Putin said Russia was helping China build nuclear reactors and that the two countries were deepening cooperation in space exploration and new technologies.

As Western pressure on Russia mounts, Putin’s government has asked officials to stop using Apple iPhones because they are vulnerable to Western intelligence, a newspaper reported on Monday.

“Throw it away or give it to the kids,” Kommersant quoted one attendee as saying.

Justice ministers from around the world met in London on Monday to discuss support for the International Criminal Court, whose chief prosecutor Karim Khan called on Russia to hand over the Ukrainian children to prove it is doing what it has done for their children.

Act in your best interest. Several EU countries agreed in Brussels to jointly buy 155 mm artillery shells for Ukraine, which Ukraine considers essential because both sides fire thousands of rounds every day.

Fierce fighting continues in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian troops have been engaged in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war since last summer.

Bakhmut, Lyman, Ivanivska, Bohdanivka and Hrykhorivka – all towns in the Donetsk region – Ukrainian military officials said that US defenders had repulsed 69 Russian attacks in the past 24 hours during a routine morning movement on the front lines.

Ukrainian supply lines west of Bakhmut and west of the town of Avdivka are under pressure, British intelligence said. Ukraine’s armed forces announced that Russian troops are on the defensive in Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.