China's Xi Jinping makes first Russia visit as Vladimir Putin wages war in Ukraine

Amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for a summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, news agency Reuters reported.

This comes after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine.

However, Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbour.

As per the Reuters report, Russia is portraying Xi’s trip as something that it has a powerful friend who is ready to fight against the West if need be.

“We can feel the geopolitical landscape in the outside world undergoing drastic changes,” Putin said in an article in China’s People’s Daily published on the Kremlin website, adding that he had high hopes for the visit from his “good old friend”.

China has issued a 12-point proposal to resolve the Ukraine problem while also strengthening ties with Moscow.

China has frequently denied Western charges that it plans to equip Russia, but it does desire a tighter energy partnership after increasing imports of Russian coal, gas, and oil in the aftermath of Putin's all-out invasion of Ukraine. Western restrictions on Russian energy have resulted in billions of euros saved for Beijing.

Xi arrived in Moscow on Monday afternoon and was due to hold “informal” talks with Putin, followed by dinner.

Formal talks are scheduled to happen on March 21.

In an article published in Russia, Xi stated that the two countries believe in "eternal friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation," and that China's Ukrainian peace plan, announced last month, reflected world perspectives.

“Complex problems do not have simple solutions,” Xi wrote in Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily published by the Russian government, according to a Reuters translation from Russian.

According to the Reuters report, China's proposal makes no specific recommendations for ending the year-long conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, damaged cities, and pushed millions to flee.

Putin welcomed China's offer to mediate, and the Kremlin stated that he will provide Xi with extensive "clarifications" of Russia's stance, without going into further detail. Putin and Xi forged a "no boundaries" cooperation last year, just before sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine to eliminate what he saw as a threat to Russia from its steps towards the West.

Meanwhile, the US observes that China has refused to censure Russia and has instead provided it with economic assistance.

Along with increasing oil and coal supply to China, Putin stated that Russia was assisting in the construction of nuclear power reactors and that the two nations were boosting cooperation in space exploration and new technologies.

The Western pressure on Russia has pushed Putin’s administration to put a hold on using Apple iPhones due to rising concerns of the vulnerability of those devices.

“Either throw it away or give it to the children,” the Kommersant daily quoted a participant of the meeting as saying.

Also Read: Chinese President Xi Jinping plans Russia visit as soon as next week