Just before Xi arrived in Moscow. Putin welcomes China's role to resolve crisis with Ukraine, Washington rejects any calls for truce during visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed China's willingness to play a "constructive" role in resolving the Ukraine crisis, hours before his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping visits Moscow. Washington said it rejected any "possible" Chinese calls for a truce in Ukraine following the Chinese official's visit to Russia.

Commenting on the upcoming visit on Monday, Putin said in an article in the People's Daily that he appreciates what he called China's balanced position on the conflict in Ukraine, noting that Moscow and Beijing support the establishment of a just world order based on international law.

Putin said that the strong friendship between the two countries is deepening and that their relations continue to grow, surpassing the military and political alliances of the Cold War, noting that the strategic cooperation between the two countries is comprehensive and has entered a new era.

Putin stressed that he is building high hopes on the Chinese president's visit to Moscow, expecting the volume of trade exchange between Russia and China to exceed 200 billion dollars this year.

For his part, the Chinese president said on Monday that his country's proposal on how to reach a settlement in Ukraine reflects global views and contributes to avoiding the consequences of the crisis, while acknowledging that solutions may not be easy.

In an article in the Russian government-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily, Xi wrote that "complex problems have no simple solutions."

U.S. Refusal

The White House reiterated its rejection of any Chinese calls for a truce in Ukraine following the meeting between the Chinese and Russian presidents.

White House National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby said in an interview with Fox News: "If Monday's meeting between Xi and Putin leads to any call for a truce, it will be unacceptable, because it is considered an endorsement of the Russian invasion."

"Moscow and Beijing want to disrupt the world order and rewrite the rules of the game at the global level," Kirby said.

"China and Russia are annoyed by this rules-based international order that the United States and many of its allies and partners have created since the end of World War II," he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying wrote in a tweet on Friday: "At the invitation of the Russian president, President Xi will conduct an official visit to Russia between March 20 and 22."

On February 24, China unveiled a proposal to settle the crisis between Russia and Ukraine "peacefully," and stressed the need to resume what it described as direct dialogue between the two countries "as soon as possible."

The terms of the proposal stipulated the need to respect the sovereignty of all states, apply international law uniformly, and abandon double standards.

Tactical deficit

On the ground, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Chervaty said that Russian forces are tactically unable to complete the process of capturing Bakhmout (east of the country).

Cervati pointed out in press statements that it is difficult to describe the movements of the Russians in the Bakhmout region as a major strategic offensive operation.

"Ukrainian command and operations on the ground are planning to defend properly, which drains the enemy and shatters the morale of Russian forces and the Wagner militia," he said. Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin's remarks about the shortage of ammunition "are a distress signal to the leadership of the Russian Federation, and these statements are the best discouragement factor for Russian forces," he said.

Andriy Yermak, director of the Ukrainian president's office, announced – in a post on social media on Sunday – that his country's forces continue to defend the city, noting that clashes with Russian forces are still continuing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier ordered the military to step up military deployment to defend the city, which has been the scene of fierce fighting for months.

On March 40, maps published by the American Institute for the Study of War showed that Russia controls about <>% of the city of Pakhmot, and the institute said that the decision to defend it forces the Russian army to get involved in a costly and bloody war, and that the city has become strategic from this point of view.

The Battle of Bakhmout is the longest since the Russian war in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, and has taken on a symbolic character for both Kiev and Moscow.