Ukraine war: Putin praises China’s “balanced” position
Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised what he described as China’s “balanced” position on the conflict in Ukraine.
Putin made the remarks at the first face-to-face meeting between him and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping since the war.
“We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis,” Putin told Xi, whom he addressed as “Dear Comrade Xi Jinping, dear friend”.
“We understand your questions and concern about this. During today’s meeting, we will of course explain our position, we will explain in detail our position on this issue, although we have talked about this before.” Putin said.
Putin’s first remarks about Chinese concern over the war come just days after a lightning rout of his forces in north-eastern Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later told reporters that the talks behind closed doors had been excellent.
“Our assessments of the international situation coincide completely … there are no discrepancies at all,” he said.
“We will continue to coordinate our actions including at the forthcoming U.N. General Assembly.”
The last time Xi and Putin met in person, just weeks before the Feb 24 invasion, they declared a “no limits” partnership and inked a promise to collaborate more against the West.
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China has refrained from condemning Russia’s operation against Ukraine or calling it an “invasion” in line with the Kremlin, which casts the war as “a special military operation”.
Beijing is perturbed by the impact on the global economy and has been careful not to give material support to Russia that could trigger Western sanctions on China’s own economy.
Putin and Xi share a world view which sees the West as decadent and in decline just as China challenges the United States’ supremacy.
Putin explicitly backed China over Taiwan.
“We intend to firmly adhere to the principle of ‘One China’,” Putin said.
“We condemn provocations by the United States and their satellites in the Taiwan Strait.”
Russia’s war has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the global economy into uncharted waters with soaring food and energy prices amid the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.
Zainab Sa’id
