Putin Says China's Plan on Ukraine Could Be Basis for Peace Settlement
© Sputnik . Pavel Byrkin
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - In February, China released a 12-point document titled "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis," which underscores respect for the sovereignty of all countries, the cessation of hostilities, and the resumption of peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.
China's proposals on the Ukrainian settlement are realistic and could form the basis for a future peace agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"Well, we know, naturally, the proposals of our Chinese friends. We highly value these proposals. I believe that they are quite realistic. In any case, they could be the basis for peace agreements," Putin said in an interview with the state-run broadcaster China Central Television.
Putin added that Russia is grateful to China for thinking about how to end the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
The president emphasized that Ukraine’s non-aligned status is extremely important to Russia, and the expansion of NATO by joining Ukraine to the bloc creates threats for Moscow.
Moreover, Ukraine, if it wants to start peace talks with Russia, needs to cancel the decree banning negotiations and declare its readiness for dialogue with Moscow, Putin noted.
"The President of Ukraine issued a decree prohibiting peace negotiations with us [...] Well, how can you negotiate if they don’t want it and even if they have issued a regulatory document that prohibits these negotiations," the Russian leader remarked.
Russia-China Relations
The president also touched upon the relations between Russia and China, noting that the countries are working on cooperation on fast neutron reactors, which will allow the two countries to build relations in a new way in this high-tech energy sector.
"We continue to build nuclear units. And not only to build units at two stations, but we are also working on the issue of a fast neutron reactor, which will allow us to build relations in this high-tech energy sector in a completely new way, since conditions are created there for a closed cycle. There will be no waste there," Putin said.
Apart from that, the head of state noted that the EAEU countries, in the course of joint work with China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, have already provided $24 billion of investments, and this volume is growing.
Putin added that during his upcoming trip to China, he will talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping about expanding contacts in the field of sports.
"I hope that our cooperation with Chinese friends in the field of sports will also actively develop [...] When I go to China, I will definitely talk with Xi on this topic [...] I will ask him to support these initiatives of young people, athletes [...] to expand contacts in the field of sports," the leader said.
15 October 2023, 13:06
BRICS Cooperation
As for BRICS, its countries have their own problems, but the growth of the potential of these states is obvious, including in the economy, Putin stressed.
"All of our countries have their own problems. And who doesn’t have them? We all do. This is not the point, the point is the growth of potential. And this growth is obvious, including in the economic sphere," the president remarked.
Putin added that the process of BRICS expansion is based on an objective reality - the creation of a multipolar world. This is also due to the growing potential of many countries, including China and India, the Russian leader said.
He also noted that at the time of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, the ratio of the economies of the G7 countries and the BRICS countries was in favor of the BRICS in terms of purchasing power parity.
"After the accession of six more BRICS members, the ratio became even greater in favor of the BRICS countries. This is a manifestation of the objective process of forming a multipolar world," Putin said.
The BRICS bloc, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and recently opened its doors to Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia and Egypt, currently accounts for nearly a third of the world's GDP and about 40% of the world's population.
