The President of China, Xi Jinping, told Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the two countries should be “steel friends”, in the context in which they agreed to lead bilateral cooperation to a new level, in a marked period of increasingly intense confrontations, Reuters notes.
In the Kremlin discussions, the two leaders appeared as supporters of a new world order, which would no longer be dominated by the United States. XI is the most influential of the more than twenty foreign leaders visiting Moscow this week, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, a high symbolic load for Putin.
The presence of XI is an important support for the Kremlin leader in a tense geopolitical context, from the Middle East to South Asia, and as Russia is under pressure from the US, while negotiations for the end of the Ukraine stagnate.
“China and Russia should defend international equity and justice and be true steel friends, hardened in hundreds of heavy trials,” Rita told XI, in a statement sent on television.
The two countries must strengthen their basis of cooperation and “eliminate external influences,” XI added, in the context in which China is in full commercial war with the United States, triggered by US President Donald Trump.
Putin and XI met dozens of times and signed, in February 2022, less than three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, a strategic “without limits”. China is currently the main commercial partner of Russia and offered Moscow a mouthful of economic oxygen, helping her face the sanctions imposed by the West.
Internally, the anniversary of victory in World War II gives Vladimir Putin the opportunity to mobilize the population around a historical success, deeply anchored in the national identity of Russia. The Soviet Union lost 27 million people during the conflict, including millions in Ukraine, which was in turn devastated.
On the international stage, Putin is trying to show that he has strong allies and to show that the sanctions imposed by the West over the years have failed to isolate Russia. “The victory over fascism, obtained with huge sacrifices, has a sustainable significance,” Putin said.
“Together with our Chinese friends we firmly defend the historical truth, protect the memory of events in the war years and combat the contemporary manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism,” said the Kremlin leader.
From the beginning, Putin presented the war in Ukraine as a fight against “modern Nazis”.
In turn, XI said that the two countries, as great powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council, will collaborate to counteract “unilateralism and intimidation”, a veiled reference to the United States.
Pressure for cessation of fire
Last week, Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral cessation of fire for three days, in the war with Ukraine, starting Thursday. Ukraine did not accept to respect the armistice, which he had cataloged as a maneuver of Putin to create the impression that he wants to conclude the conflict. Instead, Kiev was declared willing to take part in a fire cease for at least 30 days.
Both countries are facing pressure from US President Donald Trump to reach a peace agreement, and Washington has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no clear progress is being made.
Earlier this week, Ukraine launched drone attacks on Moscow for three consecutive days, but on Thursday, the sky above the Russian capital was reassured. In the context of the presence of a large number of foreign leaders in Russia, a possible attack during May 9 events would be a humility for Putin and could trigger a hard response from Moscow.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian army told Reuters that Russian troops continued the attacks in several areas on the eastern front, despite the announced armistice. For his part, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukrainian forces have twice tried to enter the border in the Russian Kursk region since the beginning of the armistice.
Chinese troops will participate in the military parade in the Red Square on Friday, the central point of commemorations. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the countries on Tuesday not to send military contingents to the event, saying that this gesture would contradict the neutrality declared by some states regarding the conflict.
Xi Jinping asked for organizing negotiations to end the Ukraine war and accused the US of supplying conflict by delivering weapons to Kiev. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski has appealed to the Chinese leader to try to convince Putin to stop the invasion.
It follows the latest developments in the 1170th day of the LiveText Ukraine on Hotnews.ro.
