ISLAMABAD/MOSCOW: President of China Xi Jinping was due to depart Russia on Wednesday after a grandiose display of solidarity with President of Russia Vladimir Putin against the West, but without offering direct support for President Putin’s war in Ukraine.
During his two-day visit, President Xi barely mentioned the Ukraine conflict and said on Tuesday in final remarks that China had an “impartial position”.
Responding to both leaders’ Xi-Putin meeting, the White House said Beijing’s position was not impartial and urged China to pressure Russia to withdraw from Ukraine’s sovereign territory in order to end the West’s biggest conflict since World War-II.
President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin cemented the friendship between China and Russia. They jointly criticized the West, which moved to buttress Ukraine against Moscow’s invasion with nearly $16 billion in financial aid and faster delivery of battle tanks.
Russia tightens ties with China
President Xi visits to Moscow, long touted by the Kremlin as a show of support from its powerful friend, featured plenty of demonstrative bonhomie on Tuesday. President Xi and the Russian president referred to each other as dear friends, promised economic cooperation, and described their countries’ relations as the best they have ever been.
A joint statement included familiar allegations against the West that the United States (US) was undermining world stability and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) barging into the Asia-Pacific region. The West has sought to isolate Russia over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and President Putin faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and world sanctions against his government and economy.
Sending money and tanks to Kyiv
In Washington, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations (UN) agency over which the United States (US) holds major control, announced that after months of talks, it reached a preliminary agreement with Kyiv on a four-year loan package of about 15.6 billion dollars.
The money would help shore up Ukraine, which has suffered extensive destruction to its infrastructure and economy during Russia’s year-long invasion. The International Monetary Fund said it expects Ukraine’s economy to show growth in 2023 of -3% to 1%.
Separately, the United States (US) intends to speed up delivery to Ukraine of 31 Abrams battle tanks to the autumn, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.
