Russian President Vladimir Putin recently praised his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as a “good old friend” and expressed eagerness to meet with him ahead of his visit to Russia. The upcoming talks between the two leaders are seen as critical to Russia’s international ties amid escalating tensions with the West. Putin has been looking to strengthen ties with China strategically and economically, while China is eager to seek support on key geopolitical issues. Many experts believe that the Putin-Xi meeting could be a turning point in global geopolitics, and bring about major changes in the world order. In this article, we delve into the significance of the Putin-Xi summit and what it could mean for the future of international relations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently paid a surprise visit to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, according to state media reports. During his visit, Putin drove around the city’s “memorial sites”, concert hall, and coastline after arriving by helicopter. This marks Putin’s first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September.
In a statement on the Kremlin website, Putin lauded the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s stance over the invasion of Ukraine ahead of his visit to Russia next week. The Russian president welcomed what he termed the constructive role of China during the war and stated that Russia was grateful for the country’s balanced approach to the crisis. The two countries were co-ordinating foreign policy amid increasing efforts by the United States to contain their activities.
He expected total trade volume with China to exceed €200 billion in 2023 and added that relations between the two had never been better. Mr Xi, according to Putin, was a “good old friend” to Russia. He also mentioned that Russia was open to diplomatic settlement with Ukraine but rejected ultimatums ahead of negotiations seeking peace.
Putin’s visit came days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes. Earlier, Putin traveled to the port city of Mariupol in his first visit to Ukrainian territory. Russian state news agencies reported on Sunday that he was in Mariupol, which became a worldwide symbol of defiance after outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian forces held out in a steel mill there for nearly three months before Moscow finally took control of it in May.
Speaking to Russian state news agency RIA on Sunday, Russian deputy prime minister Marat Khusnulin made clear that Russia was in Mariupol to stay. He also said that the Government hoped to finish the reconstruction of the damaged city centre by the end of the year. Mariupol’s plight first came into focus with a Russian air strike on a maternity hospital on March 9th last year, less than two weeks after Russian troops moved into Ukraine.
When Moscow fully captured the city in May, an estimated 100,000 people remained out of a pre-war population of 450,000. Many were trapped without food, water, heat or electricity. Relentless bombardment left rows upon rows of shattered or hollowed-out buildings. A small group of Ukrainian fighters held out for 83 days in the sprawling Azovstal steelworks in the eastern Mariupol before surrendering, their dogged defence tying down Russian forces and coming to symbolize Ukrainian tenacity in the face of Moscow’s aggression.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move most of the world denounced as illegal, and officially claimed four regions in Ukraine’s south and east as Russian territory following referendums that Kyiv and the West described as a sham. The visits of Putin to Mariupol and Crimea were condemned by Ukraine, with the Foreign Ministry calling the trips a cynical propaganda maneuver by the Kremlin.
In conclusion, Putin’s surprise visit to Mariupol sent a message that Russia has a firm grip on the Ukrainian city, and the Kremlin is not stepping back from its illegal annexation of the territory. Meanwhile, Putin’s comments lauding China’s stance over the invasion of Ukraine’s sovereign territory and balancing against the United States’ containment strategy illustrate the depth of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership.
