‘Dear friends’ Putin, Xi Jinping hold marathon talks in Kremlin; West watches closely
2 min read 21 Mar 2023, 05:57 AM ISTXi Jinping’s visit to Russia shows that ‘China feels no responsibility to hold the Kremlin accountable for the atrocities committed in Ukraine’, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
PremiumChinese President Xi Jinping visited the Kremlin on March 20 to dine with his "dear friend" Vladimir Putin. The visit, Xi's first abroad since obtaining a third term in February, comes just days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) called for Putin's arrest for war crimes in Ukraine. The timing of the visit led the US to accuse China of providing Russia with "diplomatic cover" for additional crimes.
Putin and Xi held informal talks for almost 4.5 hours, with official talks scheduled for March 21. Putin told Xi he had respect for China's proposals to resolve the Ukraine conflict, stating that he was "slightly envious" of China's "very effective system for developing the economy and strengthening the state". For his part, Xi praised Putin, predicting that Russians would re-elect him in 2024.
The West considers the ICC's arrest warrant to be reason enough to make Putin a pariah. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Xi's visit to Russia suggested that China was not holding the Kremlin accountable for its actions in Ukraine.
The US is concerned that China may arm Russia, a claim Beijing denies. Moscow signed a "no limits" partnership with Beijing in 2022, shortly before Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. Putin claims that Russia was threatened by Ukraine's moves towards the West, but the West sees it as an unprovoked attack on an independent state.
The war is believed to have killed tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers, with Moscow destroying Ukrainian cities, causing millions to flee, and annexing nearly a fifth of Ukraine.
Kyiv, which cautiously welcomed Beijing's peace proposal, is circumspect towards China. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that China arming Russia could lead to World War Three, but he believed it was unlikely. Putin and Xi's talks on Tuesday will provide Xi with detailed "clarifications" of Russia's position.
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The United States and several EU countries have provided military aid to Ukraine. The US announced a military aid package worth $350 million, which includes ammunition, rocket launchers, howitzers, infantry fighting vehicles, anti-tank weapons, and river boats. Several EU countries agreed to jointly buy one million rounds of 155 mm artillery shells for Ukraine.
Fighting continues in Bakhmut, with Ukrainian forces holding out since last summer in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war. Moscow launched a winter offensive involving hundreds of thousands of reservists and convicts recruited from jails. The front line has barely moved for more than four months. Ukraine has mainly defended itself since November, aiming to deplete Russia's attacking forces before launching its own counteroffensive.
(With Reuters inputs)
