Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping celebrate their "special" relationship with Westerners

Europe 1 with AFP 21:54 p.m., March 21, 2023

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping on Tuesday praised the entry into a "new era" of their "special" relationship with the West, with the Russian president cautiously supporting the Chinese plan to settle the conflict in Ukraine, while accusing Kiev of rejecting it.

The five key points of the summit between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping:

• Ukraine
• Front against Washington
• New gas pipeline
• Focus on the economy
• A summit with great fanfare

"A new era"

The Chinese initiative, which advocates peace talks, includes elements that can "serve as a basis for a peaceful settlement (of the conflict), when they are ready in the West and Kiev," Putin said. "However, we do not observe for the moment such a disposition on their side," he added, alongside Xi Jinping who, for his part, stressed that Beijing was "for peace and dialogue" in Ukraine. In Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had "invited" China to be part of the settlement of the conflict and "wait for its response", adding "receiving signals, but nothing concrete".

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping were speaking after a summit in the Kremlin which, in the absence of a breakthrough on Ukraine, aimed above all to demonstrate the solidity of relations between Russia and China, in a context of sharp tensions between these countries and the West. The Chinese president said that relations between Beijing and Moscow were entering "a new era", after signing with his Russian counterpart a declaration on the "deepening of the strategic partnership" Russian-Chinese.

The Kremlin master, who rolled out the red carpet for Xi Jinping for the state visit that ended Wednesday, hailed the "special nature of Russian-Chinese relations."

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"Unlimited possibilities"

In a joint statement with Cold War overtones, the two leaders also strongly attacked the West, accusing the United States of "undermining" international security to maintain its "military advantage", and expressing their "concern" about NATO's growing presence in Asia. In another echo of the Cold War, Russia and China said that a nuclear war should "never" take place, in the declaration signed by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

The Russian president also threatened to "retaliate" if London supplies Ukraine with shells containing depleted uranium, as was mentioned by a British official. He was noticeably warmer with his Chinese host, giving him "dear friend" and "comrade Xi". The two leaders even toasted during a state dinner to the "prosperity" of the Russian and Chinese people.

"Russian-Chinese cooperation has truly unlimited possibilities and prospects," Putin said over the meal. Xi Jinping's trip to Moscow is an important support for the Russian head of state, who has been targeted since last week by an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Treated as a pariah by the West since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin can count on Beijing to break the isolation: Xi Jinping invited him to visit China this year.

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Japanese Prime Minister in Ukraine

Timing coincidence? As Xi Jinping showed his support for Moscow, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday, where Volodymyr Zelensky hailed a "powerful defender of the international order". In particular, Fumio Kishida went to the martyred city of Butcha, near Kiev, where Russian soldiers are accused of committing atrocities when they occupied it, and expressed his "indignation".

Speaking to the press alongside the Japanese leader, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he would participate by videoconference in the G7 summit scheduled for May in Hiroshima. Fumio Kishida was the only one of the heads of state or government in this group of seven of the world's most industrialized countries who had not yet made a trip to the Ukrainian capital since the conflict began in February 2022.

In the face of Chinese mediation on Ukraine, Kiev's allies have generally expressed skepticism. Washington even accuses the Chinese authorities of considering delivering weapons to Russia, which they deny. On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the world should "not be fooled by any tactical decision by Russia, supported by China or any other country, to freeze the conflict (in Ukraine) on its own terms."

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Gas agreement

Beyond strategic considerations, the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping confirmed the strengthening of the economic partnership between their two countries, particularly in terms of hydrocarbons. The Chinese president's visit to Russia comes at a time when the latter has massively reoriented its economy towards China, in the face of heavy Western sanctions against it.

In this context, Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that he had reached an agreement with Xi Jinping on the gigantic Siberian Force 2 gas pipeline project, which will allow Russia to supply an additional 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Earlier, the Russian head of state, anxious to find new outlets for hydrocarbons boycotted by Europe, had assured Xi Jinping that his country was "able to meet China's growing demand for energy". As a symbol, the Russian giant Gazprom announced on Tuesday that it had delivered a "record" amount of gas the day before via the cross-border gas pipeline "Force of Siberia".