Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said he wanted to strengthen military cooperation with China during a meeting via videoconference with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, praising resistance from Moscow and Beijing in the face of Western “pressure”.
“In the face of unprecedented pressure and provocations from the West, we defend our principled positions,” Putin said.
According to him, “the coordination between Moscow and Beijing at the international level […] serves to create a just world order based on international law”.
“In Russian-Chinese cooperation, military and technical cooperation, which contributes to the security of our countries and maintaining stability in key regions, occupies a special place,” he stressed.
Then the President stressed that the two powers “intend to strengthen cooperation between the armed forces of Russia and China.”
Faced with heavy Western sanctions over its offensive against Ukraine, Russia has in recent months sought to strengthen ties with Asia, particularly China, which has however refrained from backing Russia’s attack on its neighbor.
Mr Putin also announced on Friday that his counterpart would come to Russia “in the spring” of 2023 for a “state visit” in what will be a first since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Moscow and Beijing are presenting themselves as a geopolitical counterweight to the US and its allies. They have held several joint military exercises in recent months, including naval maneuvers in the East China Sea this week.
Russia is also trying to increase gas supplies to the Chinese economy, a big consumer of hydrocarbons, as Europeans are determined to shed their Russian energy dependency.