Putin admits China has ‘questions and issues’ over Ukraine battle in meet with Xi Jinping

Russian President Vladimir Putin, whereas assembly Chinese President Xi Jinping, mentioned he understands China has “questions and concerns” concerning the battle in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. (Reuters picture)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday admitted that Chinese President Xi Jinping had “questions and concerns” concerning the battle in Ukraine however praised China’s “balanced position” on the invasion.

Putin made the remark when he met Jinping at their first face-to-face assembly because the battle. The two leaders met in Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO ) summit.

In a gap speech of the assembly, Putin instructed Xi, “We understand your questions and concerns about this. During today’s meeting, we will, of course, explain our position. We will explain in detail our position on this issue, although we have talked about this before.”

He added, “We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis.”

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This veiled admission of their diverging views comes even as Russian forces suffered a major military setback in Ukraine last week. Thousands of Russian soldiers fled their posts in Kharkiv province after Ukrainian soldiers recaptured key towns in the province. Russia’s defeat could prove to be a decisive turning point in the seven-month-old war.

According to CNN, Russian troops are retreating en masse, having lost more territory in a week than they captured in five months.

So far, China has remained a steadfast ally of Moscow and refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also stepped up economic assistance to its neighbour amid Western sanctions.

A readout from the meeting provided by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mention the conflict in Ukraine. It said China is willing to give strong support to Russia for matters related to its core interests. Xi also said he appreciated “Russia’s adherence to the one-China precept and careworn that Taiwan is part of China.”

(With enter from Reuters)

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