Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have pledged to improve bilateral ties, which the Russian president described as “the greatest in all history” when they held a joint video conference on Friday.
In his annual video call at the end of the year, held in the 11th month of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese leader made a hidden reference to the international situation that he called “complex and quite controversial”, but said his country. strategic partnership with Russia will be strengthened.
Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has made Russia increasingly dependent on China to offset the effects of western sanctions that have largely cut Moscow off from international markets and global supply chains.
Although Putin acknowledged Xi’s “concerns” about Ukraine in a private meeting last September, China did not condemn Russia for the invasion and blamed the war on western support for Kyiv.
China has also stepped up buying Russian oil exports at a discount, helping to balance the effect of western sanctions on the revenue of the Kremlin budget.
Xi said he appreciated what he described as Russia’s willingness to resolve the Ukraine war through negotiations, adding that China was ready to help resolve the crisis.
“The road to peace talks will not be smooth, but as long as efforts are not given up, the prospect of peace will always be there,” Xi said. “China will continue to uphold a fair and just attitude, work to unite the international community, and play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine crisis peacefully,” he said.
Efforts at peace talks effectively collapsed in April after credible accusations of widespread atrocities against civilians in cities previously under Russian control.
More recently, Putin blamed Kyiv for negotiations and insisted that Moscow was ready to end the war after withdrawing from parts of four frontline provinces in southeastern Ukraine that Russia is trying to annex.
The Kremlin has insisted it will start talks only if Ukraine accepts Russian control of the region, making the idea a non-starter for Kyiv, which wants to reclaim the region as a precondition for negotiations.
China’s growing strategic rivalry with the west over Xi’s claims to Taiwan, a self-governing island off the coast of China, and US sanctions on the technology industry have made Beijing reluctant to part ways with Moscow.
Putin said that Russia’s partnership with China “finds importance as a stabilization factor in the situation of rising geopolitical tensions”, while Xi said that both sides should “closely coordinate and cooperate in international affairs” and fight unilateralism, adding “sanctions”. and interference were doomed to failure”, in a slide in Washington.
Xi is expected to meet Putin in Russia in the spring, continuing a tradition of rotating annual visits since he became general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012.
Putin said the talks would “demonstrate the resilience of Russian-Chinese relations on major issues around the world”.
He visited Xi in Beijing in early February, two weeks before he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian president has only left the former Soviet Union once – for a trilateral summit with Turkey and Iran in Tehran – since the war began in February, but sent stand-in former leader Dmitry Medvedev to Beijing with a message for Xi this month.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Beijing announced that Xi’s close confidant and aide Qin Gang had been promoted to foreign minister, from his post as ambassador to the US.
While more mild-mannered than China’s other “Wolf Warrior diplomats,” Qin has been vocal in defending China’s position as geopolitical friction with Washington has grown. However, during his time in Washington he also launched personal charm initiatives that included free-throw shooting at NBA basketball games and attending business galas.
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