Xi, Putin back ‘peace talks’ for Ukraine war — but blame NATO and make no offer to withdraw

On his state visit to Moscow that began earlier this week, China’s President Xi Jinping joined with his Russian counterpart President Putin in calling for a halt to all moves that could cause tension and warfare, in order to avoid the crisis escalating out of control. They also called for responsible dialogue over Ukraine and asked that all countries’ reasonable security concerns be respected, and that block confrontations should be prevented. The two countries continue to criticise sanctions, and spoke out against NATO expansion, suggesting it rather than Russian aggression was a factor in the conflict. However, there were no references to providing military support to Moscow, despite recent evidence that points to China sending arms to Russia in contravention of international sanctions, and no references to providing any type of ceasefire, let alone a withdrawal of Russian troops from the territories it has occupied in Ukraine.

Xinhua news agency carried the joint statement made during Xi’s visit: “Russia reiterates efforts to resume peace talks as soon as possible, which is praised by the Chinese side”, adding, “Russia welcomes China’s willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine crisis through political and diplomatic means.” The Russian and Chinese presidents then argued that both sides were opposed to any countries or national blocks jeopardising the reasonable security interests of other nations in the quest for military, political or other forms of superiority. The statement asked the international community to support constructive efforts towards responsible dialogue.

Putin and Xi have conducted a range of talks during the visit to the Kremlin, not just on Ukraine, but also on trade, investment and energy, and on exchanges between people-to-people and sub-national levels. The countries referred to how their cooperation is now covering more areas, building greater consensus and is starting to deliver early harvests. Having been touted as a great opportunity to build closer links between the two major powers, it would appear that the visit had been a success for Xi, with trade deals signed that amount to around $4bn. In addition the pair agreed to increase oil exports to China to $85bn over a five-year period.

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