War in Ukraine: Japanese Prime Minister visits Kiev, Chinese President in Moscow

Europe 1 with AFP 12:02, March 21, 2023, modified at 12:06, March 21, 2023

THE ESSENTIALS

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is on his way to Kiev for a surprise visit and meeting Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Kishida will "convey to President Zelensky his respect for the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people defending their homeland under his command, as well as solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine, Japan and the G7," which the Asian country is hosting this year, the ministry said in a statement.

Fumio Kishida was the only leader in the group who had not yet been to Kiev since the Russian invasion in February 2022. He was regularly called upon to visit Ukraine. In February, US President Joe Biden also made a surprise visit to Kiev. Japanese broadcaster NHK said its journalists in Poland filmed a car carrying the prime minister to the city of Przemysl, from where foreign officials often took a train to Ukraine.

• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet Volodymyr Zelensky on a surprise visit. The opportunity for Mr. Kishida to express his respect and support to the Ukrainian people and their president.

• At the same time, Chinese President Xi Jingping is visiting Moscow to visit his old ally Vladimir Putin, with whom maintaining "strategic" relations remains a "priority".

Fumio Kishida in Kiev and Xi Jingping in Moscow

"The convoy entered Przemysl station and parked in front of a platform used by international trains bound for Ukraine. Prime Minister Kishida got off the first car in the convoy and got into the last car of the train," she added. According to the channel, the train left at 01:30 (00:30 GMT). Kishida had reiterated that the trip was "under consideration", with government sources mentioning security concerns and logistical challenges to Japanese media. He became the first Japanese prime minister to visit a war zone since the end of World War II.

His visit comes as the Chinese prime minister of Japan is visiting a war zone since the end of World War II. for a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and, at the center of the discussions, the conflict in Ukraine. Tokyo has joined Western sanctions against Russia and offered its help to Kiev. In February, Japan announced new aid of $5.5 billion (€5.1 billion) to Ukraine. Tokyo also sent him defensive equipment and offered to take in those fleeing the conflict. Japan did not, however, provide military aid, as its pacifist constitution required it to limit its military capabilities to defensive measures.

Russia remains a "priority" for Xi Jingping

Xi Jinping displayed Tuesday in Russia the "priority" he gave to "strategic" relations between Moscow and Beijing, two "great powers", thus signifying his understanding with Vladimir Putin against the West in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine. On the second day of his state visit to Russia, Xi said his trip followed "historical logic" because "we are the largest neighboring powers and strategic partners at all levels."

The Chinese president, who was speaking during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, also said Beijing "will continue to prioritize the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Russia," Russian news agencies quoted as saying. Xi, who is due to hold talks with Putin on Tuesday after a first meeting on Monday, also said he had invited the Russian president to visit him in China "when he can this year", despite the arrest warrant issued last week by the International Criminal Court against the master of the Kremlin.

"Dear friend"

The conflict in Ukraine, precisely, will be at the heart of the discussions that are to begin Tuesday around 12:<> GMT between Mr. Xi and Putin, after an "informal" meeting on Monday during which they showed their understanding, for example by giving themselves "dear friend". During this first meeting, which lasted more than four hours, Putin said he was ready to discuss an initiative by Beijing to stop this conflict. The Russian president heaped praise on his powerful Chinese host, praising his "fair and balanced position on international issues".

But if China poses as an intermediary in Ukraine, the West judges that Beijing supports Moscow too much to be credible. Washington even accuses the Chinese authorities of considering delivering weapons to Russia, which they deny. Others in the West believe that China could take inspiration from the Russian attack in Ukraine to take control of Taiwan. Also on Monday, US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said that "the world must 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."

Blinken pointed out that Xi visited Russia just three days after the ICC arrest warrant for Putin, which the U.S. diplomat said suggests China does not feel the need "to hold the (Russian) president accountable for the atrocities inflicted on Ukraine." For its part, Kiev, cautious about Chinese intentions, on Monday urged Xi to "use his influence on Moscow to end the war of aggression."