Xi, Putin hail ties in video call as Ukraine war nears anniversary

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed their ties during a video call on Wednesday held in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of Moscow's war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

In a Russian state TV broadcast of the talks, Putin said Moscow-Beijing relations were an important stabilising factor at a time of growing global turmoil, and praised the two countries' close energy partnership as mutually beneficial and strategic.

Xi, speaking via an interpreter, called for the countries to work out a "grand plan" to further bilateral relations, which he said were advancing in the right direction.

"The two sides should seize this historic opportunity, maintain close high-level exchanges and strengthen practical cooperation across various fields," he was quoted as saying by China's state broadcaster CCTV.

China and Russia declared a "no-limits" strategic partnership days before Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Since then, China has emerged as an economic lifeline for Russia by stepping up trade with its northern neighbour while Western powers piled punitive sanctions on Moscow.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that Putin and Xi spoke for 1 hour and 25 minutes and that Putin had accepted an invitation to visit China in the first half of this year.

CLOSE DIPLOMATIC ALIGNMENT

Ushakov said the two leaders had agreed to develop trade, including in energy, and that the positions of Russia and China were close or coincided on most international issues.

Xi and Putin last met in Beijing when China staged a massive military parade in September that was also attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

During that meeting, Xi said China-Russia ties had "withstood international turbulence" and pledged to coordinate with Moscow on issues concerning their core interests.

Ukraine and the European Union have accused Beijing of providing direct military aid to Russia's war effort. Beijing denies the accusations, saying it is not a party to the conflict.

Wednesday's call was held with a nuclear arms reduction treaty between Russia and the U.S. set to expire this week.

On Tuesday, Chinese and Russian senior diplomats met in Beijing to discuss the global security situation, multilateral arms control and other issues and reached "broad consensus", the Chinese foreign ministry said.

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu was also in Beijing last weekend, where he met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi.

Shoigu said Moscow would continue to support Beijing over Taiwan, the democratically governed island China claims as its own territory. Wang, in turn, pledged to deepen strategic coordination and enhance bilateral ties with Russia.