Putin and Xi sign joint statement on ‘Russia-China strategic cooperation’
Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have finished formal talks at the Kremlin, and are signing documents on strategic cooperation, Russian state media are reporting.
The pair signed a joint statement “deepening the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era”, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign affairs ministry, said.
Xi and Putin “stressed that the Ukraine crisis should be settled through peace talks”, she said.
Hua added:
On the Ukraine issue, the two sides believe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be observed and international law respected. Russia speaks positively of China’s objective and impartial position on the Ukraine issue.
The two sides oppose the practice by any country or group of countries to seek advantages in the military, political and other areas to the detriment of the legitimate security interests of other countries.
President Xi and President Putin signed a joint statement at the Kremlin on deepening the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era. They stressed that the Ukraine crisis should be settled through peace talks.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) March 21, 2023
On the Ukraine issue, the two sides believe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be observed and international law respected. Russia speaks positively of China’s objective and impartial position on the Ukraine issue.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) March 21, 2023
The two sides oppose the practice by any country or group of countries to seek advantages in the military, political and other areas to the detriment of the legitimate security interests of other countries.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) March 21, 2023
Key events
Russia-China relations ‘at their highest point in history’, says Putin after talks with Xi
Vladimir Putin has been speaking at a news conference following talks with Xi Jinping, where he says the pair have signed statements that “fully reflect the nature of Russia-China relations”, which he described as being at “their highest point” in the “whole history of our two countries”.
Russia and China are “tied together” and enjoy “good neighbourly relations”, he said, adding that Moscow was in “constant contact” with Beijing.
This allows us to find, even in most complex situations, solutions to the problems and we are able to discuss all current international issues.
Putin and Xi sign joint statement on ‘Russia-China strategic cooperation’
Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have finished formal talks at the Kremlin, and are signing documents on strategic cooperation, Russian state media are reporting.
The pair signed a joint statement “deepening the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era”, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign affairs ministry, said.
Xi and Putin “stressed that the Ukraine crisis should be settled through peace talks”, she said.
Hua added:
On the Ukraine issue, the two sides believe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be observed and international law respected. Russia speaks positively of China’s objective and impartial position on the Ukraine issue.
The two sides oppose the practice by any country or group of countries to seek advantages in the military, political and other areas to the detriment of the legitimate security interests of other countries.
President Xi and President Putin signed a joint statement at the Kremlin on deepening the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era. They stressed that the Ukraine crisis should be settled through peace talks.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) March 21, 2023
On the Ukraine issue, the two sides believe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be observed and international law respected. Russia speaks positively of China’s objective and impartial position on the Ukraine issue.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) March 21, 2023
The two sides oppose the practice by any country or group of countries to seek advantages in the military, political and other areas to the detriment of the legitimate security interests of other countries.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) March 21, 2023
Russia and China should push for further cooperation, says Xi
China’s president, Xi Jinping, told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that the two countries should work more closely to push forward greater “practical cooperation” during formal talks at the Kremlin.
Xi, speaking on the second day of his state visit to Moscow, told Putin:
The early harvest of (our) cooperation can be seen, and further cooperation is being advanced.
Russia is ready to help Chinese businesses replace western companies that have left Russia over the Ukraine conflict, Putin told Xi.
The pair had discussed the proposed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which would ship Russian gas to China, Putin said. The planned pipeline would deliver 50bn cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas per year from Russia to China via Mongolia.
Putin told Xi:
I am convinced that our multi-faceted cooperation will continue to develop for the good of the peoples of our countries.
Talks between the two leaders have now finished, Russian state-owned Tass news agency has reported.
Russia condemns British plan to send depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine
Russia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned a British plan to send ammunition that contains depleted uranium for use in Ukraine.
Foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, wrote on her Telegram channel that this was the “Yugoslav scenario”, saying: “These shells not only kill, but infect the environment and cause cancer in people living on these lands.”
Zakharova went on to say:
By the way, it is naive to believe that only those against whom all this will be used will become victims. In Yugoslavia, Nato soldiers, in particular the Italians, were the first to suffer. Then they tried for a long time to get compensation from Nato for lost health. But their claims were denied.
When will they wake up in Ukraine? I’m not talking about addicts on Bankovaya [the street in Kyiv that houses the presidential office]. But about those who are still able to think. Their benefactors poison them.
Zakharova was responding to the answer to a written statement on Monday in the House of Lords, where crossbench hereditary peer Lord Hylton asked “whether any of the ammunition currently being supplied to Ukraine contains depleted uranium”.
In reply, Lady Goldie, minister of State at the Ministry of Defence, stated: “Alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, we will be providing ammunition including armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium. Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armoured vehicles.”
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that the city of Chasiv Yar has been targeted today. It wrote on its official Telegram channel:
On 21 March, the Russian military shelled Chasiv Yar near Bakhmut. As a result of the shelling, more than two dozen buildings were damaged – more than 10 private, high-rise buildings, and a school, Serhii Chaus, head of the city military administration of Chasiv Yar, told Suspilne.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Stoltenberg claims Nato has seen ‘some signs’ Russia has requested arms from China
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned China on Tuesday against supplying lethal weapons to Russia, as leaders of both countries were meeting in Moscow for talks.
“We haven’t seen any proof that China is delivering lethal weapons to Russia but we have seen some signs that this has been a request from Russia, and that this is an issue that is considered in Beijing by the Chinese authorities,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, without elaborating further.
“China should not provide lethal aid to Russia, that would be to support an illegal war.”
Seven out of 30 allies met Nato’s military spending target of 2% of GDP in 2022, one country less than in 2021 before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday, urging allies to boost defence investment more quickly.
Reuters reports Stoltenberg told reporters in a news conference at Nato headquarters in Brussels that the alliance originally had expected two more countries to meet the goal.
“But because GDP has increased more than expected for a couple of allies, two allies that we expected to be at 2% are now slightly below 2%,” he said.
Stoltenberg did not reveal which countries reached the goal but referred to Nato’s annual report to be published later on Tuesday.
Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed leader of Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk region, has posted to Telegram encouraging higher birthrates. In a message about the construction of a perinatal centre in Donetsk, he wrote:
We all want as many children as possible to be born in the Republic. And this requires conditions. We are starting to create them now – on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, a perinatal centre is being built in Donetsk.
Russia creates conditions for the promotion and protection of motherhood, Donbas immediately felt this – both in payments of maternity capital and in the construction of a perinatal centre. I am sure that this will have a positive effect on the increase in the birthrate.
The Donetsk People’s Republic declared itself in the east of Ukraine in 2014, and in late 2022 the Russian Federation claimed to annex it.
Fifteen children returned to Ukraine from Russian-occupied territory
Fifteen children have been returned from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv and Kherson, as well as their mothers and children’s legal guardians, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said.
Lubinets posted to Telegram:
These are children from the cities of Kharkiv and Kherson regions, which were occupied at the beginning of the war.
A total of 308 children have been returned to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, he added, citing the country’s national information bureau.
Russian cruise missiles of the type used by its Black Sea navy to target Ukraine have been destroyed in an explosion in the Crimean logistics hub of Dzhankoi, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.
The strike appeared to have come from a drone, with a video of the explosion showing it was immediately preceded by a loudly buzzing engine, similar in sound to Iranian-made kamikaze drones used previously to attack Ukraine.
Ukraine did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack deep into occupied territory, but a local Russian official, Igor Ivin, said the city was the target of a drone attack and that a grocery shop had been damaged, possibly by shrapnel.
Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has visited a church in the town of Bucha outside Kyiv as part of a surprise visit to Ukraine.
Kishida laid flowers at the church in Bucha, a town that has become a symbol of Russian atrocities against civilians in Ukraine, and paid his respects to the victims, Kyodo News reported.
Kishida was quoted as saying:
I’m outraged by the cruelty. I represent the Japanese citizens to express my condolences to those who lost their lives.
The US is speeding up its delivery of Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine by sending a refurbished older model that can be ready faster, according to US officials.
The original plan was to send 31 of the newer M1A2 Abrams tanks, which could have taken a year or two to build and ship. A decision has been taken to send the older M1A1 version, which can be taken from army stocks and will be easier for Ukrainian forces to learn to use and maintain, sources told Associated Press.
The aim is to get the 70-tonne tanks to the frontline in eight to 10 months, they said. The plan will be announced by the Pentagon soon, AP reports.
Here are some images we have received from the news wires of Chinese president Xi Jinping meeting Vladimir Putin for the start of formal talks at the Kremlin.
Ukraine is holding its defence of the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut as Russian forces attempted to advance to the city centre, a Ukrainian general has said.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces, posted to Telegram:
Assault groups of the enemy are trying to advance from the outskirts to the centre of the city but our defence forces are working and destroying them 24/7.
There was intense fighting along the eastern frontline, he said.
It has not been possible to independently verify his claims.
Helen Davidson
A visit by China’s president, Xi Jinping, to Moscow this week has shone a light on his strengthening relationship with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders have met more than 40 times in recent years, growing increasingly familiar, and now refer to each other as “dear friends”. Xi has been described as a great friend by other world leaders before, including Robert Mugabe and Donald Trump, but does not always reciprocate the compliment like he has with Putin.
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