Putin admits China has ‘questions and concerns’ over Ukraine war in meet with Xi Jinping

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday admitted that Chinese President Xi Jinping had “questions and concerns” about the war in Ukraine but praised China’s “balanced position” on the invasion.

Putin made the comment when he met Jinping at their first face-to-face meeting since the war. The two leaders met in Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO ) summit.

In an opening speech of the meeting, Putin told Xi, “We understand your questions and concerns about this. During today’s meeting, we will, of course, explain our position. We will explain in detail our position on this issue, although we have talked about this before.”

He added, “We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis.”

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This veiled admission of their diverging views comes even as Russian forces suffered a major military setback in Ukraine last week. Thousands of Russian soldiers fled their posts in Kharkiv province after Ukrainian soldiers recaptured key towns in the province. Russia’s defeat could prove to be a decisive turning point in the seven-month-old war.

According to CNN, Russian troops are retreating en masse, having lost more territory in a week than they captured in five months.

So far, China has remained a steadfast ally of Moscow and refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also stepped up economic assistance to its neighbour amid Western sanctions.

A readout from the meeting provided by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mention the conflict in Ukraine. It said China is willing to give strong support to Russia for matters related to its core interests. Xi also said he appreciated “Russia’s adherence to the one-China principle and stressed that Taiwan is a part of China.”

(With input from Reuters)

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