US says Xi’s talks with Putin give war ‘diplomatic cover’
Newspapers with a front page photo of Chinese leader Xi Jinping meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow are displayed at a Beijing newsstand on March 21. (Photo: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)
Xi Jinping sits down for a second day of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, but Western allies remain skeptical of any progress in the Ukraine war, and Washington says the Chinese leader’s visit provides “diplomatic cover.” “to Moscow.
The first day in Russia for Xi was a carefully choreographed spectacle of bonhomie with a marching band serenade, a photo op and lunch with his “dear friend” Putin, but it’s the second day that the two leaders get to work. .
The key question of global concern looming over the talks is whether the results will have an impact on the conflict in Ukraine, where Russia is continuing an offensive that has triggered a massive humanitarian crisis and has left tens of thousands dead.
In recent weeks, China has tried to present itself as a would-be peace broker, calling for a ceasefire and peace talks in a vaguely worded position paper released last month.
On Monday, Putin declared that Russia had “carefully studied” China’s proposals and promised “an opportunity to discuss this matter,” according to a Kremlin statement.
But there was widespread skepticism about China’s stance on resolving the conflict, centered on concerns that nothing Beijing has offered so far reflects Ukraine’s demand that all Russian troops withdraw from its territory.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Xi’s visit on Monday, noting that it came just days after the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant against Putin.
“China does not feel responsible for calling the Kremlin to account for the atrocities committed in Ukraine and, instead of condemning them, it prefers to give Russia diplomatic cover so that it continues to commit those same crimes,” said the head of Washington diplomacy.
Any call for a ceasefire “that does not include the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory would in practice support the ratification of the Russian conquest” as it “would allow President Putin to rest and resupply his troops, and then restart the war at a more advantageous time for Russia,” he added.