President Putin said that Russia has backed China’s plan for a peaceful settlement of the war in Ukraine.
The statements of the president were published in an interview to Xinhua on Wednesday.
The interview comes ahead of a visit to China by the Russian president. Putin will visit China on Thursday for a two-day state visit.
Presidents Xi and Putin had declared a “no limits” partnership between their countries in 2022. Putin has praised Xi’s efforts to solve the crisis.
Xi put forward a 12-point paper more than a year ago but it only sets out general principles for ending the war.
Putin said that Russia was “positive in its assessment of China’s approach to solving the Ukrainian crisis.”
“In Beijing, they truly understand its root causes and its global geopolitical meaning,” he said in a Russian language transcript of the interview on the Kremlin website.
Xi’s peace plan has received a lukewarm reception in the West. The US said that China was presenting itself as a “peacemaker” but it was reflecting Russia’s “false narrative.”
It has also attacked China for failing to condemn its invasion.
Xi has also called for a “cooling down” of the situation, conditions for restoring peace, creating stability and minimising the impact on the world economy.
The West is promoting a peace plan put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The 10-point peace formula calls for a withdrawal of Russian troops, the restoration of its 1991 post-Soviet borders, and bringing Russia to account for its actions.
Russia has rejected Zelensky’s peace plan.
The West has scheduled a “peace summit” in Switzerland in June. They have not invited Russia.
The Ukrainian president is trying his best to get China to attend.
(REUTERS)
