Putin withdraws from nuke pact with US, Xi prepares to visit Moscow: Report
1 min read 21 Feb 2023, 10:02 PM ISTXi's meeting with Putin will be part of a push for multi-party talks on peace in Ukraine and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used.
PremiumHours after Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will suspend participating in the last remaining nuclear pact with United States, the New START Treaty, reports have stated that Chinese leader XI Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with his Russian counterpart.
According to Wall Street Journal, Xi's meeting with Putin will be part of a push for multi-party talks on peace in Ukraine and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used.
These developments comes just days ahead of the Russia-Ukraine war completing a year, on 24 February. China, which has declared a “no limits" friendship with Russia, has pointedly refused to criticize Moscow's actions, blaming the US and NATO for provoking the Kremlin
Preparations for the trip at at an early stage and the timing has not been finalised, the WSJ said, adding that Xi could visit in April or in early May, when Russia celebrates its World War Two victory over Germany.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi arrived in Moscow on Tuesday as as the country appears to be ramping up its diplomatic effort to push for a peace settlement in Ukraine, and just hours after Putin announced Russia was suspending its participation in a landmark nuclear arms treaty with the United States.
Wang will likely discuss Xi's trip while he is in Moscow, WSJ said, quoting people familiar with the summit planning.
Taiwan-China controversy
Russia's security head on Tuesday held talks with the Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy chief, calling for closer cooperation with Beijing to resist Western pressure.
Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's National Security Council said that the development of “strategic partnership" with China remains a top priority for Russia, and reaffirmed Moscow's “invariable support for Beijing on the Taiwan, Xinjang, Tibet and Hong Kong issues, which the West has exploited to discredit China."
US-China power struggle
While Chinese spy balloon might have triggered the strained relationship between US-China, XI Jinping's alliance with Russia is set to strain it further. China's aggressive advances have been heavily criticised by US.
Whether it was in Hong Kong, Taiwan or Tibet, China's international policies have been lambasted by US on several instances.
US also condemned Russia's ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine that has caused massive damages in the East European country.
