Critical meeting in Moscow in the shadow of the Ukrainian war

As Russian President Vladimir Putin expects Chinese President Xi Jinping to show solidarity with Russia against Western hegemony during today’s visit to Moscow, Xi is expected to present his country as a world power that will mediate the end of the Ukrainian war.

Xi will thus become the first world leader to meet Putin after the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin last week for the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia following the Russian invasion. Moscow denied the accusations.

Russia, which has been subjected to extensive sanctions by Western countries in the 13 months since the invasion of Ukraine, will try to present Xi’s visit as a sign that it still has strong supporters.

CHINA’S PEACE PLAN IS CREATING DISCUSSION

The visit will be diplomatically difficult for Xi, who has begun serving as president for a third five-year term in China. China last month announced a 12-article bill that aims to end the occupation of Ukraine while supporting Russia.

China’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire are seen by Ukraine and pro-Ukrainian Western countries as an attempt to buy time with Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is believed to be preparing to attack Russian occupation forces after harsh winter conditions, said the ceasefire deal will only be assessed when Russian soldiers withdraw from Ukrainian territory. .

While tens of thousands of people lost their lives in the Russian occupation of Ukraine, which began in February last year, many cities and towns in the north, south and east of Ukraine were destroyed.

While millions of Ukrainians had to leave their homes or countries, Western countries provided weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, which had far fewer weapons than Russia. It also introduced various sanctions that cut Russia off from the global economy. (Reuters)