Common Threats Strengthen Interaction Between Russia and China, Putin Says
11:48 18.10.2023 (Updated: 13:37 18.10.2023)
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On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Chinese capital of Beijing to participate in the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which aims to develop new mechanisms for regional economic partnership. During the visit, Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The common threats facing Russia and China serve as a means of strengthening interaction between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday during a press conference at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in the Chinese capital Beijing.
"As for how external factors and conflicts affect the development of Russian-Chinese relations, all these external factors are common threats, and they strengthen Russian-Chinese interaction, as for the prospects, I look at it with optimism," Putin said at a press conference in Beijing.
The Russian president also noted that the prime ministers of Russia and China will soon sign a plan of interaction between the two countries until 2030 in Russia's Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
"It is a very good plan. It is very concrete and substantial. I would also like to draw attention to the fact that it is being carried out on both sides without hesitation and without administrative delays," Putin said.
Putin also stressed that Moscow is interested in the development of China's Road and Belt initiative. Commenting on trade between Russia and China, the president said that it is really impressive, noting that Russia is among top trading partners of China.
18 October 2023, 11:54
President Putin added that earlier in the day he had held three-hour talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which they discussed bilateral issues and the situation in the Middle East.
"We talked with the Chinese president for three hours ... This is the entire bilateral agenda, there is a lot of it, there are many issues — economics, finance, political interaction, joint work on international platforms. We also discussed the situation in the Middle East in some detail," the Russian leader told reporters following the talks with Xi.
Ukraine Crisis
Putin said that he also informed Xi in detail about the situation around Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, a White House National Security Council spokesperson confirmed to Sputnik that the United States has already provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine to use against Russian forces.
Commenting on that, Putin warned that the delivery of ATACMS missiles from the United States to Ukraine is another mistake and will only prolong Kiev’s "agony".
"If they had not supplied weapons, they could have said in the future: well, if we had supplied everything we could, then the situation would have changed, but this would have led to unnecessary casualties … But they did it, and there will be no result. That's why it's a mistake. And, finally, nothing good for Ukraine in this sense either. No, it just prolongs the agony," he said.
Russia is able to repel ATACMS attacks, and they will not radically change the situation at the contact line, Putin added.
"The United States is becoming more and more personally drawn into this conflict. They are getting involved, this is an obvious thing. And let no one say that they have nothing to do with this. We believe that they do," the Russian president said.
Meanwhile, President Putin noted that Ukraine is thinking about resolving the conflict through negotiations, adding that this is a transformation in the right direction, but it is not enough.
Those people, who oversee the directions of Ukrainian foreign policy and who recently called for inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield, have stated that "these problems need to be resolved through peaceful negotiations," Putin said.
"This is a right transformation, transformation in the right direction, [EU foreign policy chief Josep] Borrell is already talking about this. I will praise him for this. But this is not enough. It is necessary to take concrete steps if you really want to negotiate," he told reporters.
If Ukraine wants to resume talks, there is no need for theatrical actions, it is necessary to repeal the law that bans these negotiations, Putin added.
