Crunch meeting as Putin and XI Jinping to meet today in Moscow, Russia

VLADIMIR PUTIN will meet the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on Monday, March 20 in Moscow.  It is President Jinping’s first trip to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine last year.

The meeting is said to highlight the Chinese support for Russia and the two leaders are expected to talk about the war in Ukraine over the course of the three-day visit.

It is said that President Xi Jinping is trying to represent himself as a peace broker between Russia and Ukraine, but this has been met with doubt by Western leaders because China refuses to acknowledge the nature of the conflict whilst cementing closer ties with Russia.

China has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine and has yet to speak personally with Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The two men are also expected to discuss Chinese-Russian cooperation and the development of a comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

Talks are expected to include trade agreements for oil, gas and energy pipelines. As well as the two things Russia needs to carry on its war with Ukraine – funding and arms.

While Russia expects help from the Chinese in their ‘no limits’ partnership they could be disappointed since Beijing appears to be reluctant to provide military assistance. China doesn’t want to risk sanctions against Chinese companies.

Whether President Xi Jinping decides to try and persuade Putin to pull back from Ukraine or agrees that Russia should continue the fight remains to be seen.