- Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Kremlin.
- Putin welcomed China’s proposals for a political settlement in Ukraine and said that Russia is open for talks.
- In his first trip abroad since his re-election earlier this month Chinese President Xi Jinping showed off Beijing’s new diplomatic swagger and gave a political lift to Putin.
- The two major powers have described Xi’s three-day trip as an opportunity to deepen their “no-limits friendship.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Kremlin. The leaders smiled and shook hands before sitting down at the start of their meeting, calling each other “dear friend” and exchanging compliments. Putin congratulated Xi on his re-election and voiced hope for building even stronger ties.
Putin welcomed China’s proposals for a political settlement in Ukraine and said that Russia is open for talks. Russian President Vladimir sent a powerful message to Western leaders that their efforts to isolate Moscow over the fighting in Ukraine have fallen short.
In his first trip abroad since his re-election earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping showed off Beijing’s new diplomatic swagger and gave a political lift to Putin just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for the Kremlin leader on war crimes charges related to Ukraine.
The two major powers have described Xi’s three-day trip as an opportunity to deepen their “no-limits friendship.” China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy, and as a partner in standing up to what both see as U.S. aggression, domination of global affairs and unfair punishment for their human rights records.
The two countries, among the five U.N. Security Council’s permanent members, also have held joint military drills. U.S. officials have picked up indications China is considering supplying Russia with weapons for its fight in Ukraine but have seen no evidence they’ve actually done so.
