Xi Jinping and Putin hint at political settlement to Ukraine conflict

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday hinted at a political settlement to end the Ukraine war, saying he expects peace and stability will return to the European continent, shortly after his talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as the two leaders vowed to counter any attempt by the United States to hinder their strategic ties.

Putin received a grand welcome upon his arrival here earlier in the day on his first foreign visit after winning the fifth term in office in March for wide ranging talks with Xi to reset the burgeoning China-Russia strategic ties for future.

"China hopes that peace and stability will return to the European continent at an early date, and stands ready to play a constructive role to this end," Xi said at a joint press conference with Putin after their talks. A joint statement issued after Putin-Xi talks said that both sides believe that for "a sustainable settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, it is necessary to eliminate its root causes."


In a veiled criticism of the US, which is pressuring Beijing to end its ties with Russia, the statement said relations between China and Russia do not target any third countries. "The two sides note that the relationship has progressed to a more advanced interstate cooperation compared to the military-political unions of the Cold War era as it is not bloc or confrontational in nature, nor does it target any third countries," Russia's new agency Tass quoted the document as saying.

As per the statement, Russia and China reaffirmed their resolve to defend their legitimate rights and interests and block any attempts to impede a development of ties, and any interference in the internal affairs of the two nations or to impose curbs on their economic, technological and foreign policy potential.

Putin's visit to China, the second since last October, follows Xi's tour to France, Serbia and Hungary where the Chinese leader came under pressure from EU leaders not to sell arms to Russia. The US too is mounting pressure on China not to sell arms to Russia.