The US has accused Beijing of considering exporting arms to Moscow, claims China has vociferously denied. Traditional Russian wooden nesting dolls, called Matryoshka dolls, depicting the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, at a gift shop in central Moscow Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesĬhina has sought to portray itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, but Washington has said Beijing’s moves could be a “stalling tactic” to help Moscow. It urged all parties to avoid nuclear escalation, but did not suggest Russia withdraw its forces. The paper, published last month, largely reiterated Beijing’s talking points on the Ukraine war, with calls for dialogue, respect for all countries’ territorial sovereignty, and an end to economic sanctions. He is also due to hold talks with his Polish counterpart before returning to Japan on Thursday, the foreign ministry said.ĭuring the meeting on Monday between Xi and Putin, the Russian leader said he was open to talks on Ukraine and praised Beijing’s 12-point position paper on the conflict. Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, showed footage of Kishida boarding a train at the Polish border town of Przemyśl. Kishida, who represents a seat in Hiroshima, has pledged to use his G7 presidency to promote nuclear disarmament, amid fears that Russia has not ruled out the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. With Japan due to host this year’s G7 summit, in Hiroshima in May, Kishida was under pressure to end his status as the group’s only leader yet to visit Kyiv. Tokyo joined the US and other countries in imposing sanctions on Russia, prompting the Kremlin to add Japan to its list of “unfriendly” countries. Kishida and Zelenskiy are expected to discuss Japanese support for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The sit-down between Xi and Putin was to be unexpectedly mirrored in Kyiv, where the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, was en route to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. And any ceasefire that does not address the removal of Russian forces from Ukraine would effectively ratify Russia’s illegal conquests, enabling Russia to entrench its positions and then to restart the war at a more advantageous time for them.” “But we are concerned that, instead, China will reiterate calls for a ceasefire that leaves Russian forces inside Ukraine sovereign territory. “We hope that President Xi will press President Putin to cease bombing Ukrainian cities, hospitals and schools to halt the war crimes and atrocities and to withdraw all his troops,” he said. A ceasefire – which was a key part of China’s peace proposal published last month – would not be enough, he said. On Monday night, the White House spokesperson John Kirby said Xi should use his influence to press Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine and “halt the war crimes”. In a rare move, Putin escorted Xi to his car after the talks, and the two were seen smiling together.įormal talks were scheduled for Tuesday, the Kremlin said. The talks were accompanied by a six-course meal that included blini with quail and mushrooms, fish and pomegranate sorbet, according to a menu published by a state media journalist. On Monday, Xi and Putin held four and a half hours of talks, calling each other “dear friend”.
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