Putin thanks Xi for 'balanced position' on Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked President Xi Jinping on Thursday for his “balanced” approach to the Ukrainian crisis and acknowledged Beijing’s “questions and concerns” regarding the conflict. Speaking at the start of talks with Xi in Uzbekistan, Putin said: “We highly appreciate the well-balanced position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis.” “We understand your questions and your concerns in this regard, and we certainly will offer a detailed explanation of our stand on this issue during today's meeting, even though we already talked about it earlier,” he added. According to Xinhua, Chinese authorities said Xi promised “strong support” to Russia’s “core interests”. Speaking after the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the assessments of the international situation by Moscow and Beijing “fully coincide. We don’t have any differences”. He added that both countries “will continue coordinating our actions, including at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.” Lavrov described the talks as “excellent”, saying they were “very businesslike and concrete, involving a discussion of tasks for various ministries and agencies”. Also following the meeting, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price called Putin's apparent admission “striking”, but said that China's concerns are not surprising. “It is somewhat curious that President Putin would be the one to admit it and to admit it so openly,” Price said in Washington. The Biden administration described the talks between Xi and Putin as part of a rapprochement that has worried Washington. “We’ve made clear our concerns about the depth of China’s alignment and ties with Russia,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. She added that Thursday’s meeting “is an example of that alignment”. (Xinhua/AP)