Xi, Putin hold talks at crucial moment of Ukraine crisis, stress peaceful approach

[superadmin]

Two important world leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, held a crucial phone call on Friday, one day after Russia launched military operations against Ukraine, in which Xi stressed the significance of resolving the crisis through negotiations. 

Chinese analysts believe that the Xi-Putin conversation amid the rapidly escalating Ukraine crisis sent strong signals to the world that the relations and trust between China and Russia is tangible and firm despite US-led Western attempts to sow discord between them using the crisis, and it also showed the world that as a responsible major power, China is actively pushing for a peaceful settlement of the issue by urging the two sides to sit down and talk, which formed a sharp contrast to the US approach that aims to fan the flame. 

President Xi said that the dramatic change in the situation in eastern Ukraine recently has attracted a high level of attention from the international community. China determines its position concerning the Ukrainian issue on its own merits. It is important to reject the Cold War mentality, take seriously and respect the reasonable security concerns of all countries, and reach a balanced, effective and sustainable security mechanism in Europe, Xi said. 

Xi said China supports Russia in solving the issue through negotiations with Ukraine. 

Putin said the US and NATO have long turned a blind eye to Russia's legitimate security concerns, and have repeatedly negated their promises to Russia. Their continued military deployment eastward has challenged Russia's strategic red line. He also expressed Russia's willingness to have high-level negotiations with Ukraine.

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