'Dear Friends' meet again: Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin show off their close ties
It’s been a meeting that the whole world was waiting for! China’s Xi Jinping is in Moscow to visit his ‘dear friend’ Vladimir Putin and discuss the ongoing Ukraine war. Beijing has pitched this meet as a peacemaker project. Will Xi be successful?
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It was a meeting that the whole world was waiting for and the moment finally arrived on Monday. China’s Xi Jinping met with Russian president Vladimir Putin, for the first time since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last year. Beijing has framed the visit as a peacemaking project. Reuters
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The two leaders share a good relationship and that was evident during the visit too. Putin and Xi greeted one another as “dear friend” when they met in the Kremlin and held informal talks for nearly four-and-a-half hours. AP
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The war in Ukraine was raised in the first hours of their meeting, and is expected to be a key point of discussion throughout Xi’s visit. China has billed the trip a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace”, but some Western nations see the visit as a ringing endorsement of the Russian leader – as the International Criminal Court issued warrants against Putin just last week. AP
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After the informal talks, during which the Russian leader said he was open to discussing China’s peace proposals, Putin hosted a state meal for his friend. The meal was decadent, comprising of Russian classics such as fish caught in the Black Sea, to venison, pomegranate sorbet, and pavlova. AP
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Xi’s visit to Moscow is his first trip abroad since he obtained an unprecedented third term earlier this month. The visit has garnered attention in China as well with newspapers and websites offering front page news on the meeting between the two. AFP
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Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow has also created a market for Putin-Xi-related merchandise in Russia. Traditional Russian wooden nesting dolls, called Matryoshka dolls, depicting the Chinese and Russian leader are present at gift shops across the Russian capital. AFP
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The Michurinsky prospekt (Avenue) station of the 70-kilometre-long Big Circle Line (BCL) of the Moscow Metro (subway) is also decorated with Chinese characters in Moscow as a way to welcome Xi Jinping to the Russian capital. Earlier Putin had said, “If the agenda permits, we will be happy to show it to our guests”. AP
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Chinese president Xi Jinping will be in Moscow until 22 March. The visit is a diplomatic win for Putin, who has been isolated by the West for waging war in Ukraine for over a year now. AP
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Law enforcement officers stand guard next to barrier constructions installed near the Kremlin. Reuters
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Wax figures depicting Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping are displayed at a wax sculpture museum in St. Petersburg, ahead of Xi’s arrival in Moscow. AP
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