Putin Hails Greater Co-operation with China

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told China’s top diplomat Wang Yi that Moscow and Beijing are “reaching new milestones”.

“Russian-Chinese relations are developing as we planned in previous years. Everything is moving forward and developing, and we are reaching new milestones,” Putin said during a meeting at the Kremlin.

The Russian leader added: “International relations today are complex, they have not improved after the collapse of the bipolar system. On the contrary, they have become more tense.”

Talking about trade, Putin said that “cooperation in the international arena between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, as we have repeatedly said, is very important for stabilizing the international situation.”

Wang Yi’s televised response was brief. Aided by a translator, Wang Yi vowed that relations between China and Russia would not succumb to pressure from other countries.

He added that the two countries are ready to deepen strategic co-operation.

In a warm tone, Wang Yi said that Beijing is ready to strengthen its partnership with Moscow in the interest of the two countries and the whole world.

Wang’s trip to Moscow has been closely watched in the West, amid concerns that the ongoing closeness between the two nations could impact the war in Ukraine, which approaches the one-year mark.

Though China has claimed impartiality over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has refused to condemn Moscow and parroted Kremlin lines blaming NATO for provoking the conflict.

On Tuesday Putin vowed to continue with Russia’s year-long war in Ukraine stressing that “defeating Russia is impossible.”

He accused the U.S.-led NATO alliance of fanning the flames of the conflict in the mistaken belief that it could defeat Russia in a global confrontation.

In his national address to the assembled joint houses of the Russian parliament, Putin said that Russia would “carefully and consistently resolve the tasks facing us” in Ukraine.