Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/MOSCOW: China’s top diplomat Wang Yi is meeting Kremlin officials in Moscow on Wednesday, as tensions rise over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia and China believe that they “opposed all forms of bullying” as the US and EU prepare more sanctions on Russia. Wang Yi would also meet Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and could sit down with President Vladimir Putin.
US President Joe Biden would meet Nato leaders from eastern Europe later as part of a visit to Poland to mark the anniversary of the war. In this regard, the EU would also meet later to discuss a new batch of sanctions.
The official readout says they were promoting “peace and stability,” – yet their talks come almost a year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Wang Yi and Nikolai Patrushev “opposed the introduction of a cold war mentality.” Yet, Beijing has been accused of already sending dual-use technology to support Russia’s war effort.
As the two spoke, Washington has been putting more pressure on Russia to stop the war with fresh sanctions. They replied that China and Russia “oppose all forms of unilateral bullying.”
Chinese official’s meeting with Russian leaders
Wang Yi will also meet Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and could sit down with President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin told me, “There’s a lot to discuss.” Finally, there has been considerable speculation here in Beijing that plans are underway for China’s leader Xi Jinping to visit Russia in the coming months.
