Putin says he welcomes Chinese leader’s plan for settling ‘acute crisis in Ukraine’

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow for a three-day visit on Monday and signaled that he is open to working with China to resolve the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Associated Press reported that Putin welcomed Xi’s plan for “settlement of the acute crisis in Ukraine.”

Xi arrived in Moscow on Monday in his first trip to the country since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, a visit that the West sees as Beijing doubling down on its support for Russia. The meeting between the two leaders has been hailed by China as an opportunity to open “a new chapter of China-Russia friendship.”

“My upcoming visit to Russia will be a journey of friendship, cooperation and peace,” Xi said in a statement announcing his trip. “I look forward to working with President Putin to jointly adopt a new vision, a new blueprint and new measures for the growth of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the years to come.”

China’s foreign ministry said Xi will be in Russia from Monday to Wednesday, but did not offer other details on the trip, like what the two leaders may discuss. The Kremlin said on Friday that the leaders will discuss “pressing issues related to the future of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China.”

China called for a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine last month, and released a 12-point plan in finding a resolution for the conflict. The plan includes ending hostilities, resuming peace talks and addressing the humanitarian crisis the war created.

Putin applauded the plan after it was released, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the time that China discussing Ukraine “was not bad.” President Biden said a Chinese-brokered peace plan between Russia and Ukraine was “not rational,” adding that the plan would likely only benefit Russia.