Xi Jinping, Putin met first time since Russia invaded Ukraine

“We highly appreciate the balanced position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis; we understand your questions and concern in this regard, and during today’s meeting, of course, I will explain our position on the issue in detail, although we have talked about it previously,” Putin said at a meeting with the head of the People’s Republic of China during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan.

Putin also said that Russia firmly adhered to the one-China principle and condemned “provocations” by the U.S. and its satellites in the Taiwan Strait.

Xi Jinping, in turn, said in a welcome address that the two sides were able to overcome the impact of the pandemic and continued “the most important strategic dialogue.” He called Russia and China the leading world powers that offer the world “a little more stability.”

The meeting will take place within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which is taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on September 15-16.

Xi Jinping last met with Putin in February, just weeks before the Russian leader ordered his troops to move into the neighboring country, Ukraine. At that meeting during the opening of the Olympic Winter Games, Xi Jinping and Putin announced the so-called “no limits” partnership between the two nations.

Throughout the war, China refrained from condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and neither did the country’s officials refer to it as an invasion.

As reported, on February 24, Russia launched a new stage of its war on Ukraine – a full-scale invasion. Russian troops have been shelling and bombarding Ukraine’s cities and villages, killing the civilian population. In the wake of Russian aggression, the international community imposed on Russia a set of large-scale sanctions, which have already affected Russia’s economy.