An informal face-to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping has begun in the Kremlin. This was announced by the Ria Novosti agency. Discussions will continue over a working lunch.
Xi Jinping in Moscow, the arrival of the Chinese President
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow today for a two-day visit. It is his first trip abroad since being re-elected for a third term as head of state. “China and Russia are good neighbors and reliable partners,” Xi said upon arrival in the Russian capital, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency, adding that his trip will serve “the development of strategic interaction and practical cooperation” between the two countries . “I am confident that the visit will be fruitful and will give new impetus to the healthy and stable development of Sino-Russian relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation in a new era,” the Chinese leader stressed that Russia and China intend to work together based on the principles of the United Nations to promote “multilateralism” and “global governance in a fairer and more rational direction.”
ANSA agency
For issuing an arrest warrant against Putin. Medvedev, “One can imagine a hypersonic missile against the Hague court” (ANSA)
The US, Peskov added, “also prevented a slackening of hostilities” in Ukraine. “The State Department and the National Security Council are talking about it openly and officially.” For his part, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said that Kiev is urging Xi to “use his influence” over President Putin to end the war. “Ukraine is closely following the visit of the Chinese President to Russia. We expect Beijing to use its influence over Moscow to end its aggressive war against Ukraine.” said Nikolenko.
A few hours before their meeting in Moscow today, Putin and Xi published parallel editorials in their interlocutor’s press – Putin in People’s Daily, Xi in Rossiyskaya Gazeta – to underscore their strategic alliance and explain what Putin called Beijing’s “constructive role” in “solving the Ukraine crisis”.
Putin said he has “high hopes” for President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, the first since the start of his “military special operation” against Ukraine in February 2022. “In connection with the events in Ukraine, we welcome China’s willingness to play a constructive role in solving the crisis in order to understand its origins and real causes,” wrote the Russian president, who returned to slam the US, Europe and allies, arguing with it “The crisis in Ukraine, which was provoked and is being vigorously fueled by the West: it is the most striking, but not the only manifestation of the will to assert its dominance and preserve the unipolar world order”.
ANSA agency
The 12 points of the proposal, from the question of territorial integrity to the prohibition of nuclear weapons (ANSA)
The West, he explained, wants to contain Russia and China “by constantly working to carve up the common Eurasian space into a network of exclusive clubs.” According to Putin, the military blockades “served to curb the development of our countries. But that won’t work.” In his lengthy article, the Kremlin chief also listed growing areas of economic cooperation, including energy sales, Russia’s construction of nuclear power plants in China, and industrial and agricultural projects, assuring that the share of local currency deals in bilateral trade is increasing.
Xi’s article, which focuses more on the war in Ukraine, aims to strike a difficult balance between calling for peace and avoiding open criticism of Ukraine
Russia Beijing has denied accusations by the United States and NATO that it is considering supplying arms to support Moscow’s aggression on Kiev, which Putin continues to insist is “Western-fuelled”. China’s peace plan, which envisages respect for the “sovereignty of all countries” and the end of all sanctions, is “constructive” and promotes a “political solution,” said Xi, for which “complex problems have no easy solutions.” “ But an end to the war would ensure “the stability of the global production and supply chains”.
And the solution can be found “when everyone is guided by the concept of common, global, common and sustainable security, and dialogue and consultations continue in an equitable, prudent and pragmatic manner,” Xi wrote again, summing up Beijing’s position the matter together. The economic partnership is a “priority” for China and Russia, the Chinese president added, assuring that the parties seek an “all-encompassing partnership” that is effective in a world threatened by “acts of hegemony, tyranny and bullying.” .
Russia and China are battling “common threats,” Putin noted, while their relationship is “getting stronger” and is at “the highest level in its history.” Xi’s visit is a “historic event” that “reaffirms the special nature of the Russo-Chinese partnership.” The Russian president then describes Xi as a “good old friend” with whom “we have achieved an unprecedented level of trust in our political dialogue, our strategic cooperation has taken on a truly global character and we stand at the gates of a new era.”
In Russia, from today through Wednesday, President Xi Jinping will strengthen ties with Putin, a partner increasingly dependent on Beijing but also increasingly unpredictable. “A mission for peace,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry presented on Friday, linking it to Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Buoyed by an unprecedented third consecutive term as President of the People’s Republic, following the equally historic third tenure of the Communist Party Secretariat in October, Xi has decided to start the new decade’s foreign visits from Moscow, as he has did it 10 years ago Before, he does it as soon as he has conquered the country’s institutional summit.
His face-to-face meeting with Putin will be his 40th, underscoring the continuing importance of his understanding of Russia even as the trip risks jeopardizing other foreign policy goals, including those to prevent China’s relationship with the United States from spiraling out of control and to protect ties with Brussels, with which Beijing is trying to further advance economic and trade cooperation. China still needs access to Western markets, technology and capital to return to robust growth, the true source of the CCP’s legitimacy. The Kremlin, on the other hand, is increasingly dependent on the kite when purchasing oil and gas in view of Western sanctions, but complains about its maneuverability.
“Just before Xi’s state visit began, Putin made his first trip to the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol, more than symbolic of the Russian invasion, in another apparent attempt to signal that he has Beijing’s support,” a diplomatic source told ANSA. However, instead of urging Putin to pull out of Ukraine, Xi will – according to some observers – use the meeting with the Russian president to expand the bilateral strategic partnership. In order to strengthen the image of a neutral party interested in peace, Xi is then to speak virtually with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since the Russian invasion beganThe Wall Street Journal reported this in the past few days, presumably after his trip to Moscow.
The White House is preparing for the visit in a wait-and-see attitude: “We’ll see what comes out of this meeting,” says White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, but if the motion is a ceasefire in Ukraine “Unacceptable” because it would mean “confirming Russia’s achievements to date” and “giving Putin more time”. Since Moscow attacked Ukraine over a year ago, Beijing has avoided condemnation by maintaining an ambiguous position. Any significant distance from Moscow would have a backlash that China cannot afford: it is possible that the communist leadership is seeking a better balance between the twin goals of achieving stability in relations with Europe and ensuring Russia does not lose the war and staying aligned with China, essential to Xi’s plans for new world orders to the detriment of the United States. “Xi will refuse to put his name on anything that could cause an economic setback for the West,” the diplomatic source added. While Hu Xijin, former editor of the Global Times, a nationalist tabloid of the People’s Daily, noted that “the US provides the reason and the energy to continue the war in Ukraine.” Instead, “China is providing the rationale and hopes to end it,” Hu wrote on Twitter.
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