Chinese President Xi Jinping has renewed his support for Russia’s security interests in his first phone call with Vladimir Putin since the early days of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The diplomatic gesture is designed to show that Russia is not isolated as leaders from France, Italy and Germany prepare to travel to Ukraine, and NATO defense ministers meet in Brussels this week to bolster military aid. in Kyiv.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Xi noted “the legitimacy of the actions taken by Russia to defend its fundamental national interests in the face of security challenges posed by external forces.” He added that the conversation, held on Xi’s 69th birthday, was “traditionally warm and friendly,” and added that China’s relations with Russia were at “an unprecedented level.”
Xinhua, China’s state news agency, reported that Xi had reiterated previous calls on Russia and other countries to end the war, but said China was “willing to continue mutual support with Russia in issues related to sovereignty, security and issues of great concern ”.
Beijing has become an important ally for Moscow, which wants to show that condemnation of Putin’s invasion of the West has not isolated Russia. But the Ukrainian war has also tested the Russian president’s link with Xi, whom the U.S. says was “concerned” by the “bitter experience” of Western sanctions in response.
The Chinese leader stressed in the call with Putin that China has always “independently assessed” the situation and “promoted world peace and the stability of the global economic order,” Beijing said.
The comments come as the EU and NATO are expected to step up their support for Ukraine this week.
Emmanuel Macron, Mario Draghi and Olaf Scholz are due to discuss Ukraine’s prospects for joining the EU when they meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday. The European Commission is likely to recommend on Friday that Kyiv be granted EU candidate status, a first step towards accession, according to officials familiar with the talks.
Meanwhile, NATO defense ministers will discuss further arms deliveries to Ukraine, which has complained about the shortage of long-range, heavy-caliber artillery needed to fight Russian forces advancing in the east. of Donbas and the southern coastal regions. On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. will provide an additional $ 1 billion in security assistance to Kyiv, including artillery, coastal defense and advanced rocket systems.
In an address to the Czech parliament, Zelenskyy reiterated his call for more weapons and urged the EU to give Ukraine a positive response on EU membership. “We must receive a response from the European Union, from all the Member States, to the question of the status of Ukraine… To show that European unification is real and that European values really work.”
Macron, who has long said he was ready to go to Kyiv “when the time is right,” hinted at the possibility of an impending trip while visiting French troops deployed by NATO at a military base in the east. of Romania and was with the President of the country, Klaus. Iohannis.
He said “new talks” were needed with Ukraine. “I think we are at a time when we, the EU, need to send clear political signals to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, as they have been resisting heroically for several months,” he said when asked if he was heading to Kyiv.
Macron reiterated his call for possible negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to secure peace in Europe once the “war of aggression” launched by Vladimir Putin has stopped.
“At some point, when we have helped Ukraine to the fullest and when, I hope, Ukraine has won, and especially when there can be a ceasefire, we have to negotiate, the Ukrainian president and his government should negotiate with Russia.” said Macron.
The French president has been accused by some European allies of being too complacent with Putin, saying Russia should not be “humiliated”. But he insisted on Wednesday that he was in constant contact with Zelensky on the situation, stressing that even after the war Russia would remain a power that could not be ignored.
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“We will have common sense to say that we are not waging a war against Russia,” Macron said. “The only desirable outcome of the conflict is a Ukrainian military victory or at some point a negotiation because there will be a ceasefire, which could allow for an agreement between Ukraine and Russia.”
Additional report by Valentina Pop in Brussels, Guy Chazan in Berlin and Amy Kazmin in Rome