UKRAINE
After the West imposed the most severe sanctions in modern history on Moscow due to the war in Ukraine, Putin pivoted Russia towards China.
Beijing, once the junior partner to Moscow, remains by far the most powerful of Russia’s friends – and its top buyer of crude.
That closeness has perturbed some in the Russian elite who fear that Russia is now too dependent on China, with which the Soviet Union came to the brink of war in 1969 over a border dispute.
Xi said both sides agreed that a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis was the “right direction” and the joint statement said both countries were opposed to a drawn out conflict.
Putin, who arrived on Thursday for a two-day visit, said he was grateful to China for trying to solve the Ukraine crisis, adding that he would brief Xi on the situation there, where Russian forces are advancing on several fronts.
Describing his initial talks with Xi as “warm and comradely”, he outlined sectors where the two countries were strengthening ties, from nuclear and energy cooperation to food supplies and Chinese car manufacturing in Russia.
One notable absence from Putin’s delegation was Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, who was holding talks with Iranian officials.
Putin and Xi will participate in a gala celebration marking 75 years since the Soviet Union recognised the People’s Republic of China, which Mao Zedong declared in 1949.
It was not immediately clear if Putin would make any further stops in Asia.
