Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived at the Kremlin on Tuesday for formaltalks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the Ukraine conflict aclosely-watched matter on the agenda.
Xi entered the Kremlin on a red carpet and was greeted by a military bandand a delegation of senior Russian officials including Putin, as bothnations seek allies to counteract Western power.
The Chinese leader’s Moscow visit has been viewed as a boost for Putin, whois under Western sanctions and subject to an International Criminal Courtwarrant over accusations of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
The Kremlin has said the two leaders would discuss proposals put forward byChina to end more than a year of fighting in Ukraine, and that the talkswere likely to end with Xi and Putin signing a raft of agreements.
Xi earlier met with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and hailed Russia andChina as “great neighbouring powers” on the second day of his visit toRussia.
Beijing and Moscow’s trade ties have boomed since Russia’s Ukrainecampaign, linking the nations more closely and raising worries in Westerncapital over how far the ties will go.
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Xi, who said he had invited Putin to visit China this year, said China’sgovernment would “continue to prioritise the all-round strategicpartnership between China and Russia”.
“We are great neighbouring powers,” he was quoted by Russian news agenciesas saying during a meeting with Mishustin.
Xi’s trip coincides with a surprise visit to Kyiv by Japanese PrimeMinister Fumio Kishida, who visited Bucha, a town where Russian forces wereaccused of committing atrocities during their occupation last year.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry described the trip as “historic” and called it”a sign of solidarity and strong cooperation between (Ukraine and Japan)”.
