Following a significant defeat for Moscow on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and praised him for his “balanced” approach to the Ukrainian conflict while denouncing Washington’s “ugly” methods.
In his opening remarks before his meetings with Xi in Uzbekistan, Putin also recognised vague “concerns” held by China on Ukraine.
Putin turned to face Xi across a large table and stated, “We really appreciate the well-balanced attitude of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian problem.
Even though we previously discussed it before, he said, “We understand your queries and your concerns in this respect, and we surely will present a full explanation of our view on this matter during today’s meeting.
Putin’s sporadic reference of Chinese concerns comes at a time when Beijing is concerned about the effects of unpredictable oil prices and the ongoing economic uncertainty caused by the conflict in Ukraine, which has lasted for over seven months.
The two met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a group of eight countries that also includes Pakistan, India, and four former Soviet republics in Central Asia.
The security alliance was established as a check on American power.
Without mentioning Ukraine directly, a statement from the Chinese government claimed that Xi had pledged to “strongly support” Russia’s “core interests.” Beijing uses the phrase “core interests” to refer to matters like national sovereignty and the Communist Party’s war-like claim to Taiwan, despite the fact that the statement provided no more information.
Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, said the assessments of the global situation by Beijing and Moscow “totally agree. There are no distinctions between us.”
Both nations “will continue to coordinate our measures, especially in the next United Nations General Assembly,” he said.
The discussions, according to Lavrov, were “extremely businesslike and concrete, with a discussion of duties for several ministries and agencies,” and he called them “great.”
The Putin-Xi conversations were seen by the Biden administration as a component of a rapprochement that has alarmed Washington.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We’ve made clear our concerns about the extent of China’s alignment and relationships with Russia,” adding that Thursday’s meeting “is an example of that alignment,” but she refused to elaborate.
Prior to the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Xi’s administration declared a “no-limits” relationship with Moscow and has failed to condemn its military operations. Greater purchases of Russian oil and gas by Beijing and India help Moscow counteract Western sanctions brought on by the invasion.
Observers claim that as the West seeks to set a price restriction on Russian energy resources and even eliminate their imports entirely, Russia will likely become more and more dependent on China as a market for its oil and gas.
In the midst of tensions with the United States that followed U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taiwan, Moscow has aggressively supported Beijing in an effort to deepen an alliance with China.
Putin said to Xi, “We condemn the provocations of the US and its satellites in the Taiwan Strait.
The summit is taking place against a backdrop of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan not far from Uzbekistan, as well as tensions in China’s relations with the United States, Europe, Japan, and India due to disagreements over technology, security, and territory. This is in addition to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
At the beginning of his one-on-one discussions with Xi, Putin denounced attempts by the United States and its allies to control world events.
“Recent efforts to establish a unipolar world have become very unpleasant. The great majority of nations on earth find them wholly intolerable “He stated in his opening statement.
According to Putin, “the partnership of Moscow and Beijing plays a significant role in safeguarding global and regional security.” We all support creating a fair, democratic, multipolar world based on international law and the pivotal function of the UN, not norms created by some and attempted to be imposed on others without any justification.
More cautiously, Xi said that “China is ready to cooperate with Russia to reflect the responsibility of a large nation, play a leadership role, and infuse stability into a turbulent and linked world, in light of changes in the globe, times, and history.”
The conference was held after a quick Ukrainian counteroffensive last week forced Russia to withdraw its troops from significant portions of northeastern Ukraine. After its troops were forced to retire from regions close to the city early in the conflict, Moscow’s losses have been most severe since Ukraine reclaimed control of a number of Russian-occupied towns and villages.
Beijing wants to establish itself as a regional force, as shown by Xi’s first international trip since the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic two and a half years ago, which includes the SCO summit in the historic city of Samarkand.
Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, whom Putin also spoke with, has his nation on track to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Moscow and Tehran, according to Raisi, were negotiating a significant agreement that would elevate their relationship to a “strategic level.”
At the outset of their discussion, he and Putin both blasted the United States. Raisi said that the United States had violated its commitments under the international nuclear agreement with Iran. “They are masters of their word — they give it and then take it back anytime they want,” Putin mocked American officials.
Putin will also have one-on-one meetings with Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan. The SCO considers Turkey and Azerbaijan to be “dialogue partners.”
The worst confrontations between the longtime rivals in over two years occurred earlier this week when Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged cross-border fire that resulted in the deaths of 176 soldiers on both sides. Moscow, which has attempted to retain tight connections with both nations, is now in a vulnerable position as a result of the war.
Putin and Erdogan’s meeting will be widely monitored for their comments about Ukraine and the July agreement that Turkey and the U.N. mediated to open the door for the sale of grain and other agricultural items that had been halted at Ukraine’s Black Sea ports after the invasion.