Putin signals willingness to negotiate on Ukraine in Beijing
Published: Thursday, May 16th 2024, 13:01
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Moscow and Beijing now consider a political agreement to be a suitable option for resolving the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. "Both sides see a political agreement as the right way to resolve the Ukraine crisis," said China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping on Thursday in Beijing during a state visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
China hopes that peace and stability will soon be restored in Europe. Beijing is prepared to play a constructive role, said Xi.
So far, Beijing has not condemned Moscow's war of aggression in Ukraine and is outwardly neutral in the conflict. However, China - as an important trading partner - is backing Russia in the UN Security Council. There are also accusations that Chinese goods deliveries are supporting the neighboring country's arms industry. The USA has therefore already placed Chinese companies on sanctions lists.
Putin thanked China for initiatives that are helping to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. The Chinese had already presented a twelve-point plan to resolve the conflict more than a year ago. However, the proposals remained vague and therefore met with international criticism.
Beijing has not yet confirmed its participation in the upcoming peace conference in Switzerland, which Russia is not attending. Due to its good relations and influence on Moscow, China is considered a key participant. However, Russia is unlikely to have much interest in this.
Shortly before his arrival in China, Putin had already stated in an interview with China's official news agency Xinhua that the Kremlin was ready for negotiations on the conflict in Ukraine. "We are open to a dialog on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours," Xinhua quoted the Russian president as saying. Negotiations have never been rejected by the Russian side.
At the start of the talks on Thursday, Xi congratulated his "old friend" on his fifth term in office and expressed confidence that Russia's development would make "great progress" under him. Xi said that China-Russia relations had become stronger and had withstood the "test of a changing international landscape". According to the Chinese, both sides agreed to "deepen the comprehensive strategic coordination partnership for the new era".
Putin recalled that Xi had also visited Russia last year as the first country after his re-election. "It has already become a good and beautiful tradition between us to pay each other our first visits abroad," said Putin. Both signed an agreement that is intended to further deepen the existing partnership between the two countries.
China is Russia's most important ally. Beijing supports Moscow in its war of aggression against Ukraine, for example, and is an important trading partner for the country affected by Western sanctions.
The flourishing trade between the two countries has helped Russia to compensate for losses in trade with Western countries since the start of the war. In the past two months in particular, however, there has been a dip in trade after the US issued an urgent warning to Chinese banks against violating sanctions.
In the joint statement, Russia and China condemned initiatives to confiscate state property - as is currently being discussed due to the Russian war of aggression - and threatened to take countermeasures.
Putin's visit to China is now also aimed at stabilizing trade relations. Following the talks in Beijing, a visit to the northern Chinese industrial city of Harbin is on the agenda on Friday. There, Putin will visit a Russian-Chinese trade fair.
©Keystone/SDA
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