During a virtual summit between the two leaders on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that NATO would insist that NATO not expand into Ukraine and deploy troops and weapons in the country.
Putin and Xi held a sit-in session that escalated tensions between Moscow and Washington over the build-up of thousands of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine.
According to Putin’s adviser on foreign affairs, Yuri Ushakov, Russian and Chinese leaders discussed “the growing threats to Russia’s national interests from the United States and NATO, which constantly move their military infrastructure close to Russia’s borders.”
Ushakov added that Putin told Xi of the need to enter into negotiations with NATO and the United States on security guarantees.
Xi responded that he “understands Russia’s concerns and fully supports our initiative to provide these security guarantees to Russia,” the advisor continued.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency in Si Hina reported that Xi stressed that Moscow and Beijing should “protect” their security interests.
“Currently, certain international forces under the guise of ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights’ are interfering in the internal affairs of China and Russia, and brutally trampling on international law and recognized standards of international relations,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
The two leaders appear to have developed a relationship after the United States imposed sanctions on China’s crackdown on the Muslim Uyghur population and Russia over the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
“A new model of cooperation has been formed between our two countries, based, among other things, on principles such as non-interference in internal affairs and respect for each other’s interests,” Putin said.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied it is planning military action against Ukraine after US officials warned allies of a possible invasion next year.
Putin also said he plans to meet Xi in person in Beijing in February and attend the Winter Olympics next year.
The United States, Canada, Australia and Britain said they would not send VIPs to the Winter Olympics as part of a diplomatic boycott of China’s human rights record. Other countries said they would not send officials due to pandemic travel restrictions.
with wire
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