Putin, Xi to declare 'new era' for ties, discuss Ukraine
Russia's military campaign in Ukraine will also be on the agenda during the meeting between Putin and Xi
Published: 03:03 PM,Mar 17,2023 | EDITED : 07:03 PM,Mar 17,2023
A woman lights a candle during a commemorative rally for people killed a year ago inside building of the Mariupol's Drama Theatre by Russian air strike, amid a siege on the city during Russia's invasion, in front of the Opera Theatre in Kyiv. - Reuters
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will next week sign an agreement ushering in a 'new era' of ties and discuss Ukraine, a Kremlin official said Friday.
'The leaders will sign... a joint statement on strengthening comprehensive partnership and strategic relations entering a new era,' Putin's top foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies.
According to Ushakov, Putin and Xi will also sign a joint declaration on Russian-Chinese economic cooperation until 2030, adding that there are about a dozen other documents in the pipeline.
The two leaders will both pen articles on bilateral ties that will be published on Monday in a Russian and Chinese newspaper, 'an important signal on the eve of the actual talks', Ushakov said.
He added that Russia's military campaign in Ukraine will also be on the agenda. 'Of course, the Ukraine conflict will be discussed. We highly value the restrained, considered position of the Chinese leadership on this issue,' Ushakov said.
He said Beijing has an 'understanding of the true causes of this crisis' and Moscow welcomed China's peace initiative on the Ukraine conflict published last month.
Putin and Xi will on Monday have a one-on-one 'informal' meeting and dinner before negotiations on Tuesday, Ushakov said. Xi will then return to Beijing, the Kremlin advisor added.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Xi's visit to Russia - his first in nearly four years - would strengthen economic partnerships and promote 'peace', although he made no explicit mention of the Ukraine war.
China is Russia's most important ally and has been buying Russian oil and other goods shunned by Western countries. It is also a big buyer of Ukrainian grain.
Meanwhile, an international agreement to allow the safe export of grain from several Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea expires on Saturday. Russia has agreed to extend the deal for 60 days while Ukraine, along with the United Nations and Turkey which brokered the original deal, have called for a 120-day rollover.
Russia has not specifically said why it is insisting on the shorter period, although it has complained that its own food and fertilizer exports are being hindered by Western sanctions.
The United Nations Office in Geneva said on Friday that discussions were ongoing on the renewal of the deal, needed to prevent global food shortages because Ukraine is a big exporter. A shorter extension period would further restrict exports from Ukraine, which remain well below pre-invasion levels.
'We are not going to speculate on what's going to happen tomorrow,' Alessandra Vellucci, director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, told a briefing.
China, which has not condemned Russia for invading Ukraine, expressed concern about the war intensifying after a US surveillance drone intercepted by Russian jets crashed into the Black Sea three days ago, in the first known direct US-Russia confrontation.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu presented awards to the pilots of the jets on Friday, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported, a pointed retort to White House comments that the incident was reckless and perhaps showed incompetence.
Beijing has called for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, but Russia says Ukraine must accept the loss of four regions along with Crimea, which it forcibly annexed in 2014.
Ukraine says Russian troops must withdraw beyond its 1991 borders - the year the Soviet Union dissolved - and also that Moscow would use any truce to rebuild its forces for a further assault. - AFP/Reuters
'The leaders will sign... a joint statement on strengthening comprehensive partnership and strategic relations entering a new era,' Putin's top foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies.
According to Ushakov, Putin and Xi will also sign a joint declaration on Russian-Chinese economic cooperation until 2030, adding that there are about a dozen other documents in the pipeline.
The two leaders will both pen articles on bilateral ties that will be published on Monday in a Russian and Chinese newspaper, 'an important signal on the eve of the actual talks', Ushakov said.
He added that Russia's military campaign in Ukraine will also be on the agenda. 'Of course, the Ukraine conflict will be discussed. We highly value the restrained, considered position of the Chinese leadership on this issue,' Ushakov said.
He said Beijing has an 'understanding of the true causes of this crisis' and Moscow welcomed China's peace initiative on the Ukraine conflict published last month.
Putin and Xi will on Monday have a one-on-one 'informal' meeting and dinner before negotiations on Tuesday, Ushakov said. Xi will then return to Beijing, the Kremlin advisor added.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Xi's visit to Russia - his first in nearly four years - would strengthen economic partnerships and promote 'peace', although he made no explicit mention of the Ukraine war.
China is Russia's most important ally and has been buying Russian oil and other goods shunned by Western countries. It is also a big buyer of Ukrainian grain.
Meanwhile, an international agreement to allow the safe export of grain from several Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea expires on Saturday. Russia has agreed to extend the deal for 60 days while Ukraine, along with the United Nations and Turkey which brokered the original deal, have called for a 120-day rollover.
Russia has not specifically said why it is insisting on the shorter period, although it has complained that its own food and fertilizer exports are being hindered by Western sanctions.
The United Nations Office in Geneva said on Friday that discussions were ongoing on the renewal of the deal, needed to prevent global food shortages because Ukraine is a big exporter. A shorter extension period would further restrict exports from Ukraine, which remain well below pre-invasion levels.
'We are not going to speculate on what's going to happen tomorrow,' Alessandra Vellucci, director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, told a briefing.
China, which has not condemned Russia for invading Ukraine, expressed concern about the war intensifying after a US surveillance drone intercepted by Russian jets crashed into the Black Sea three days ago, in the first known direct US-Russia confrontation.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu presented awards to the pilots of the jets on Friday, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported, a pointed retort to White House comments that the incident was reckless and perhaps showed incompetence.
Beijing has called for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, but Russia says Ukraine must accept the loss of four regions along with Crimea, which it forcibly annexed in 2014.
Ukraine says Russian troops must withdraw beyond its 1991 borders - the year the Soviet Union dissolved - and also that Moscow would use any truce to rebuild its forces for a further assault. - AFP/Reuters