China-Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said before his trip to China that Russia is open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including Russia's, and he expressed positive views on China's position on the Ukraine crisis.

Chinese analysts said on Wednesday that China will maintain communication with and mediation among all parties involved, and now the key problem is that some other parties have shut down the door for negotiations and insist on a military solution.

On the eve of his two-day state visit to China, which starts on Thursday, Putin stated in a written interview with the Xinhua News Agency that Russia and China are promoting the prosperity of both nations through expanded equal and mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic and cultural fields.

In the interview, Putin emphasized that the coordination of foreign policies between the two countries is propelling the establishment of a fair multipolar world order, which underpins the future success of the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era.

On the Ukraine crisis, Putin said China clearly understands the roots of the Ukraine crisis and its global geopolitical impact, as reflected in "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis," a 12-point proposition issued by China in February 2023. The concepts and suggestions indicated in the document demonstrate the sincere desire of China to stabilize the situation, he added.

Putin emphasized that the four principles for the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis recently proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping seamlessly fit in the above-mentioned document.

The Russian president said "The steps build on the idea that we need to forego the 'Cold War mentality' and ensure indivisible security and respect for international law and the UN Charter in their entirety and interrelation."

"We have never refused to negotiate," Putin said. "We are seeking a comprehensive, sustainable and just settlement of this conflict through peaceful means. We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours."

Zhang Hanhui, Chinese ambassador to Russia, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview recently that "Unfortunately, there is still no sign of a cease-fire in the current Ukraine crisis, and the conflict is still escalating and expanding. The parties involved are not willing to budge on their positions, with significant differences in understanding. Some external forces are still adding fuel to the fire and fanning the flames." 

"History has proven that the end point of any conflict is the negotiating table. China supports the timely convening of an international conference recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties and fair discussion of all peace proposals. China is willing to continue to play its unique role and contribute Chinese wisdom and strength to promote a political solution to the Ukraine crisis," said the Chinese ambassador.

CNN reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise trip to Kiev on Tuesday, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian forces made significant gains in eastern Ukraine. Blinken's visit was the first by a Biden administration official since the long-delayed passage of US supplemental funding to the war-torn country.

In their meeting, Zelensky urged Blinken to provide more military support to the Ukrainian military, including additional air defense support. Russia is pushing ahead with its new advance into northeastern Ukraine after making several major advances there over the past week - Moscow's most significant gains since Kiev's forces recaptured Kharkiv in late summer 2022, CNN reported.

Zhang said "The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has never targeted any third party, nor does it tolerate any third-party interference or coercion. China is not the creator or a party to the Ukraine crisis." 

"We will never accept baseless accusations or threats of sanctions against China and Russia by certain countries using the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to interfere in exchanges and cooperation. We will firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of our enterprises. At the same time, we advise relevant countries to stop blaming China and make real efforts to politically resolve the Ukraine crisis," said the Chinese ambassador.

Putin said in the interview with Xinhua that "Our countries [China and Russia] have similar or coinciding positions on key issues on the international agenda. We advocate for the primacy of international law, equal, indivisible, comprehensive and sustainable security at both the global and regional level with the UN's central coordinating role." 

The Russian president said "We also reject Western attempts to impose an order based on lies and hypocrisy, on some mythical rules of no one knows whose making."

Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that China, Russia, as well as the vast majority of the Global South all oppose unipolar world order with hegemonic dominance, unilateralism, protectionism and the double-standards and hypocrisy displayed by some Western countries, especially the US.