“Right now there are changes – the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years – and we are the ones driving these changes together,” China President Xi Jinping told Russian President Vladimir Putin as he stood at the door of the Kremlin to say goodbye.
The Russian president replied: “I agree.”
The trip that ended Wednesday signalled no new progress in ending the bloody conflict between Russia and Ukraine while shoring up President Vladimir Putin’s standing amid growing efforts to isolate him and his government internationally.
China on Wednesday said Xi’s visit to Russia was a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace,” and again criticised Washington for providing military support to Ukraine.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated China’s claims that it remains neutral in the conflict and said it had “no selfish motives on the Ukraine issue, has not stood idly by … or taken the opportunity to profit itself”.
“What China has done boils down to one word, that is, to promote peace talks,” Wang said at a daily briefing.
Wang also accused the US of lacking impartiality and of “fanning the flames” of the conflict by providing defensive weapons to Ukraine to Washington’s own benefit.
The US NATO and partner nations have openly supported Kyiv since the start of the conflict, and China is widely seen as providing economic backing for Putin’s regime while avoiding being directly involved.
“President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia is a journey of friendship, cooperation and peace, which has aroused positive responses in the international community,” Wang said.
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