Yahoo Autos China's Xi visits 'friendly neighbor' in Moscow; Russia cites 'monstrous consequences' of Putin arrest warrant: Ukraine updates
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for three days of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a visit eyed warily by the U.S. and Western allies.
Xi's first visit since Russia invaded Ukraine would appear to show support for Putin, who needs trade deals and bullets as he faces pressure from economic sanctions and reports that his military is running low on ammunition and fighting equipment.
"It gives me great pleasure to once again set foot on the soil of Russia, our friendly neighbor," said Xi, who added that he first visited as president 10 years ago.
China has called for a cease-fire and peace talks, a plan praised by Moscow but rejected by Kyiv because it would keep Russian troops in occupied territory.
“We will discuss ... your initiative that we highly respect,” Putin said after the leaders shook hands. “Our cooperation in the international arena undoubtedly helps strengthen the basic principles of the global order and multipolarity.”
The trip comes days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine. Neither Russia, China nor the U.S. is a member of the ICC, a Netherlands-based court that claims universal jurisdiction for war-related crimes.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Xi's visit “suggests that China feels no responsibility to hold the Kremlin accountable for the atrocities committed in Ukraine and, instead of even condemning them, it would rather provide diplomatic cover for Russia to continue to commit those very crimes.’’
The Kremlin said the two leaders will discuss a "comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation." Western officials have expressed concern that Putin could ask Xi to supply Russia with weapons, but Beijing has described the trip as one of "friendship and peace."
China has refused to condemn Moscow’s aggression and professes to be neutral in the conflict. Beijing portrays itself as a peacemaker, citing Xi’s recent success in brokering talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia that resulted in restored diplomatic ties between the longtime adversaries.
"The formula for the successful implementation of China’s 'Peace Plan'... is the capitulation or withdrawal of the Russian occupation troops from territory in accordance with the norms of international law and the UN Charter," Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine's national security chief, tweeted Monday.
Developments:
►An explosion in the city of Dzhankoi, in the northern part of Russian-occupied Crimea, destroyed Russian Kalibr cruise missiles as they were being transported by rail, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Monday. As has been the case with previous incidents that damaged military equipment in Crimea, Ukraine did not claim responsibility.
►Ukraine does not reveal its number of military casualties -- dead and wounded -- from the war, but Oleksiy Danilov, the country's Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, denied they were "upwards of 100,000'' as Politico has reported. "During the war this is closed information,'' Danilov told Ukraine's Interfax news agency, "but 100,000 is completely untrue."
►A war crimes conference in London attended Monday by justice ministers from more than 40 countries raised nearly $5 million to support the ICC's investigations of Russian atrocities in Ukraine.
►The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case against the ICC's top prosecutor and several judges, saying the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Putin and children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova were illegal.
►Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court ruled Monday in favor of confiscating the 66.6% of the Kyiv mall Ocean Plaza that belonged to four Russian oligarchs. The seized assets were valued at $300 million.
'AS BEFITS A THIEF': Putin makes surprise visit to occupied Mariupol, gets ready to host Xi
