Xi-Putin meeting: The leaders of Russia and China play the role of peacemakers in Ukraine, pledging closer ties

(CNN) Posing as peace brokers during a courtesy visit to Moscow on Tuesday, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin once again touted a supposed plan to end Russia’s raging war in Ukraine that the United States has criticized as a one-sided attempt to give the Kremlin leader cover that he continues his invasion.

Putin on Tuesday endorsed the Chinese leader’s proposal for a “peace settlement in Ukraine”, in a show of unity in the Kremlin that raised the prospect of strengthening the anti-Western bulwark internationally.

But these initiatives were completely ignored as a serious framework for peace. China plan – which calls for a cease-fire And the talks, but do not include any clause that Moscow withdraws its troops from Ukrainian territory – they were drawn up without any interference from Kiev. Meanwhile, the United States warned on Monday that Xi’s visit provides “diplomatic cover” for Russia’s war.

And there was no indication that Tuesday’s show of rapprochement in the Kremlin had done anything to influence the state of war in Ukraine, where Putin’s ground offensive remains embroiled in slow trench warfare.

The Russian president claimed that China’s plan “can be taken as a basis for a peace settlement in Ukraine, when the West and Kiev are ready for this.”

“All our talks today and yesterday, individually and with delegations, were successful and took place in a friendly atmosphere,” Putin said in a joint statement to the media on the second day of Xi’s state visit to Moscow.

“I have built a close relationship with President Putin in the past 10 years,” Xi added. “We have agreed that the relations between our two countries transcend ourselves. They are crucial to the world order and the future and destiny of all mankind.”

According to the reading, Russia spoke positively of China’s “objective and fair” attitude towards Ukraine, and the two sides opposed any country or group of countries harming “the legitimate security interests of other countries in pursuit of military, political or other advantages.”

China has tried repeatedly in recent weeks to portray itself as an aspiring peace broker, repeating its calls for a cease-fire and peace talks in Vaguely worded position paper He was released last month, even as Russia continues its bullet-launching offensive A collective humanitarian crisis It left tens of thousands dead.

But Western countries viewed Beijing’s intentions with deep suspicion, and the NATO chief said on Tuesday that the alliance had seen “some indications” that Russia was pressuring China to provide lethal assistance.

Besides initiatives for Ukraine, the two leaders emphasized their common strategic vision and indicated their desire to strengthen relations on a number of issues, including energy.

“China has become a leader in importing Russian oil, while Russia is ready to increase uninterrupted supplies of oil for the needs of the Chinese economy,” Putin said.

Putin added that further growth in Russian gas exports to China was discussed, including “the implementation of the initiative to build the Siberia-2 gas pipeline through the territory of Mongolia.”

The two raised a toast at the start of the state dinner on Tuesday, with Putin declaring in a speech that “Russian-Chinese relations are at an all-time high.”

Diplomatic cover

There has been widespread skepticism about China’s position on resolving the dispute, centered on fears that nothing Beijing has offered so far reflects Ukraine’s demand that all Russian forces withdraw from its territory.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday Hit in Xi’s visitpointing out that it came only days after the International Criminal Court in The Hague Arrest warrant to Putin.

“China feels no responsibility to hold the Kremlin accountable for the atrocities committed in Ukraine, and rather than condemn it, it would rather provide diplomatic cover for Russia to continue committing those same crimes,” said the top diplomat in Washington.

Any calls for a ceasefire “that do not include the removal of Russian forces from Ukrainian soil would effectively support the ratification of a Russian invasion” because “it would allow President Putin to rest and replenish his forces, and then resume the war at a time that would be more beneficial to Russia.”

As Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said that day on Twitter that the “successful implementation” of a Chinese “peace plan” must begin with the “surrender or withdrawal” of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.

Xi’s visit to Moscow coincided with A Sudden trip to Ukraine From Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

Xi also invited Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to visit China during their meeting Tuesday morning, Tass reported, adding that Mishustin had already accepted the invitation.

Meanwhile, NATO said it was aware that Russia likely requested lethal help from China to bolster Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

“We haven’t seen any evidence that China is providing lethal weapons to Russia, but we have seen some indications that this was a request from Russia, and that this is an issue being considered by the Chinese authorities in Beijing.” Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference in Brussels on Tuesday.

Stoltenberg warned that “China should not provide lethal aid to Russia. It would be to support an illegal war.”

CNN’s Michael Conte, Kylie Atwood, Svetlana Vlasova, Anna Chernova, Duarte Mendonca, Xiaofei Xu and Wen Zhang contributed to this report.