Putin to Xi: “I appreciate the balanced position of Chinese friends on the Ukrainian crisis”

The Russian President Vladimir Putinhas moved to Chinese President Xi Jinpingthat Russia “appreciates the balanced position of the Chinese friends in relation to the Ukrainian crisis“. In the context of the meeting that both leaders have held this Thursday in Uzbekistan, the first face-to-face since the start of the war in Ukraine, Xi has described Putin as “an old friend”and has extolled the firmness of bilateral ties, amid increased international pressure against both powers.

“We understand your questions and concerns on the matter, and during the meeting we will explain our position in detail, although we have already discussed this before,” Putin said, regarding China’s position in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Likewise, the Russian president has taken the opportunity to reiterate Moscow’s respect for the “one China” principle, and has condemned “the provocations of the United States and its satellites in the Taiwan Strait”, given the recent tensions between Beijing and Taipei, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

The meeting took place within the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan. Xi’s visit to Uzbekistan marks her first trip abroad in more than two and a half years, and comes after Russia and China underscored their “unlimited” friendship shortly before the start of the war in Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the invasion, China has shown its support for Russia, and has presented the United States and NATO as responsible, due to what it describes as military expansionism, while trade between the two countries has skyrocketed, due to the increase in imports from the Asian giant to compensate for the vacuum caused by Western sanctions on Moscow.