China's Xi meeting Putin in boost for isolated Russia leader
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet with Vladimir Putin in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
Xi’s government gave no details of what the Chinese leader hoped to accomplish. Xi and Putin declared they had a “no-limits friendship” before the February 2022 attack on Ukraine, but China has tried to portray itself as neutral. Beijing called for a cease-fire last month, but Washington said that would ratify the Kremlin’s battlefield gains.
The Chinese government said Xi would visit Moscow from Monday to Wednesday but gave no indication whether he had left. The Russian government said Xi was due to arrive at midday and meet later with Putin.
Ahead of the meeting, China's foreign ministry called on the ICC to “respect the jurisdictional immunity” of a head of state and “avoid politicization and double standards.”
