Putin promises to address China’s ‘problems and concerns’ about Ukraine | World News

If Vladimir Putin wanted Chinese approval for his “special military operation” in Ukraine when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a regional summit in Uzbekistan on Thursday, he didn’t get it.

Just a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying that China will cooperate with Russia to “play a leading role in injecting stability into a changing and disorderly world.”

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Eight months ago, when President Xi welcomed the Russian president to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the two promised “an infinite friendship”.

Then on February 24, President Xi found himself in a difficult situation, aligning with a country that violated the core principle of non-interference in its internal affairs, which is the core principle of which China is so sensitive to Taiwan, which it considers a part of China.

Suddenly, the risk of secondary sanctions affects China’s economic ties with its neighbors. China continues to buy Russian oil and supply Russia with the goods it needs, but it has been careful not to participate in anything that would support President Putin’s “special operation” in Ukraine or risk being influenced by Western trading partners.

President Putin made a surprise admission in Samarkand, promising to address China’s “problems and concerns” surrounding the Ukraine crisis. This suggests that there is some, China has never made it clear.

For all the video released at the summit of smiling Vladimir Putin, shaking hands with world leaders who are still ready to shake his hand, there is no footage of Putin shaking hands with Xi Jinping, nor the precious content of their conversation together.

“I don’t think China wants to be really associated with Russia right now,” said Temur Umarov, an analyst at the Carnegie Center in Moscow.

“That’s why Xi Jinping’s first trip abroad in nearly three years is not Russia or Moscow, but Central Asia — first Kazakhstan, then Uzbekistan. He came to the neutral territory as a summit guest, not to meet Fra Kimir Putin”.

“We agree on the international situation, we do not have any differences here,” the Russian foreign minister said in an interview with Russian state television, which was quoted by Interfax news agency.

“We will continue to coordinate our actions, including at the upcoming UN General Assembly.”

Even in Samarkand, where Ukraine has not been publicly mentioned on the Chinese side, the Russian-Chinese partnership is still important.

In a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna demanding that Russia end its occupation of Ukraine’s Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, only China and Russia voted against it.

As Vladimir Putin said today, the “Moscow-Beijing tandem” carries considerable weight.