This official meeting between two powerful leaders has made headlines with many countries concerned over this tightening relationship.
With the Russia-Ukraine war having devastated millions of lives within the region, the International Community has kept Russia isolated. However, one country has kept a close tie: China.
After a year of conflict with Russia invading Ukraine, President Xi Jinping has made a state official meeting in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin. According to CNN News, there were no resolution talks about solving the conflict in Ukraine. The meeting was mostly about strengthening the bilateral relationship that both countries already have.
Russia is dependent on China’s economic trading partnership within the region. Not only that, both countries have accused the West of provoking Russia to invade Ukraine.
The two leaders discussed their mutual support in their meeting. Putin and Jinping urged NATO and the United States to respect other country’s interests in the globe stage of diplomacy. Just a few weeks prior, China seemed to be the peace broker by urging talks to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In response to China’s previous calls for peace, Zelensky said, “A ceasefire would simply freeze the conflict, giving Russia time to prepare and come back again with their single wish, the wish of their leader — that is to occupy our country.”
President Jinping’s third term in office is a sign that Beijing will not break the bilateral partnership with Russia, according to NPR News. Before President Jinping arrived in Moscow, he wrote a brief statement in a Chinese newspaper that said, “the two countries have cemented political mutual trust and fostered a new model of major-country relations. The bilateral relationship has grown more mature and resilient.”
Jinping’s visit to Moscow has also set a precedent for alliance between both countries that are known to be superpowers in the global stage of GEO Political establishment. Additionally, their aim is to set forth an argument that the West is provoking instability within the region of Ukraine.
On President Putin’s behalf, he is open to peaceful settlements from the Western front. According to Reuters, President Jinping barely spoke about the conflict in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, President Putin spoke very positively about the peace plan that President Jinping proposed last month, and he condemned the West for not offering any resolutions that would ease the tensions between them and the Western alliance.
“We believe that many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are consonant with Russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when they are ready for that in the West and in Kyiv. However, so far we see no such readiness from their side,” Putin said in a statement.
On the other side of the spectrum, the White House said that Beijing should put pressure on Russia by telling them that they should withdraw forces from Ukraine in order to end the war.
Before President Jinping arrived in Moscow, his European tour was all about peace talk and negotiation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Western allies are relying less on Russian energy sources. By doing this, Russia is hit with sanctions along the way. China and India are filling the gap of purchasing energy supply from Russia, and Moscow sees this as a way of gaining support.