The President of China, Xi Jinping, has arrived in Moscow on Monday for a three-day visit that Beijing has promoted as a "journey for peace" in his attempt to play mediator in the war of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Ukraine.
The presidents will address "the situation in Ukraine and China's peace initiative for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," as reported by the Kremlin. "One way or another, the issues that this plan deals with will certainly be addressed in the course of the exchange of views (between the two leaders) on Ukraine. Ukraine will certainly be on the agenda," added Russian Presidency spokesman Dmitry Peskov, at a press conference.
Peskov added that Putin will thoroughly explain Moscow's position on the conflict to Xi so that the Chinese president can "get first-hand the Russian side's view of the current moment."
Speaking at a daily briefing in Beijing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called Xi's trip a "journey of friendship, cooperation and peace." On the war, Wang explained that "China will maintain its objective and fair position on the Ukrainian crisis and play a constructive role in promoting peace talks."
Beijing's leap into Ukrainian issues follows its recent success mediating talks between Iran and its main Middle East rival Saudi Arabia, which have agreed to restore diplomatic ties after years of tension.
In late February, Beijing proposed a ceasefire as part of its document called China's Position on a Political Solution to the Ukraine Crisis. Washington, however, rejected the idea out of hand as an effective ratification of the ground gained by Russia on the battlefield.
Xi is traveling to Russia shortly after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges last Friday. Moscow, which does not recognize the authority of the ICC, has dismissed his decision as "legally invalid and void". For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the ICC to "respect the jurisdictional immunity" of a head of state and "avoid politicization and double standards."
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
