Chinese President Xi Jinping has renewed his support for Russia’s security interests in his first telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin since the first days of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The diplomatic gesture aims to show that Russia is not isolated as leaders of France, Italy and Germany prepare to travel to Ukraine, and NATO defense ministers gather in Brussels this week to increase military aid to Kyiv. .
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it had noted “the legitimacy of Russia’s actions to protect its core national interests in the face of external security challenges posed by external forces.” It added that the conversation, held on Xi’s 69th birthday, was “traditionally warm and friendly”, adding that China’s relations with Russia were “at an unprecedented level”.
Xinhua, China’s state news agency, said it had reiterated its previous calls for Russia and other countries to end the war, but said China was “ready to continue mutual support with Russia on sovereignty, security and security issues.” of great care. “
Beijing has become an important ally for Moscow, which wants to show that condemning Putin’s invasion of the West has not isolated Russia. But the war in Ukraine is also testing the Russian president’s relationship with Xi, whom the United States claims was “unsettled” by the “bitter experience” of large-scale Western sanctions in return.
The Chinese leader stressed in a conversation with Putin that China has always “independently assessed the situation” and “promoted world peace and the stability of the global economic order,” Beijing said.
The comments come as the EU and NATO are expected to step up their support for Ukraine this week.
Emmanuel Macron, Mario Draghi and Olaf Scholz are due to discuss Ukraine’s prospects of joining the EU when they meet with President Vladimir Zelensky on Thursday. The European Commission is likely to recommend on Friday that Kyiv be granted EU candidate status, a first step towards membership, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
Meanwhile, NATO defense ministers will discuss further arms supplies to Ukraine, which has complained of a shortage of long-range, heavy-caliber artillery needed to fight advancing Russian forces in the eastern Donbas and southern coastal regions. On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said the United States would provide additional $ 1 billion in security to Kyiv, including artillery, coastal defense and advanced missile systems.
Addressing the Czech parliament, Zelensky reiterated his call for more weapons and called on the EU to give Ukraine a positive response to EU membership. “We need to get an answer from the European Union – from all Member States – to the question of Ukraine’s status. . . to prove that European unification is real and that European values really work.
Macron, who has long said he is ready to go to Kyiv “when the time comes”, hinted at the possibility of an upcoming trip as he visited French troops stationed for NATO at a military base in eastern Romania and met with the president. Klaus Johannes.
He said “new negotiations” with Ukraine were needed. “I think we are at a time when we, the EU, need to send clear political signals to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, as they have been heroically resisting for several months,” he said when asked if he was heading for Kyiv.
Macron reiterated his call for possible talks between Ukraine and Russia to secure peace in Europe after the “war of aggression” started by Vladimir Putin stopped.
“At a time when we have helped Ukraine to resist as much as possible and when – I hope – Ukraine has won and above all, when there may be a ceasefire, we must negotiate, the Ukrainian president and his government must negotiate with Russia.” Said Macron.
The French president has been accused by some European allies of being too lenient with Putin, saying Russia should not be “humiliated”. But he insisted on Wednesday that he was in constant contact with Zelensky on the situation, stressing that even after the war, Russia will remain a force that cannot be ignored.
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“Let’s have common sense to say we are not waging war against Russia,” Macron said. “The only desired way out of the conflict is either a Ukrainian military victory or negotiations at some point, because there will be a ceasefire, which could allow an agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
Additional reports from Valentina Pop in Brussels, Guy Chazan in Berlin and Amy Casmin in Rome
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