SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin met Thursday for talks on increasing ties between their countries, a meeting that follows a major setback for Moscow on the field of battle of Ukraine.
The two leaders met in Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security alliance created to counter US influence that also includes India, Pakistan and four former Soviet nations. ‘Central Asia.
Along with Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the summit’s backdrop is the brief flare-up not far from the scene of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as tensions in China’s relations with Washington, Europe, Japan and India over disputes over technology, security and territory.
Speaking at the start of his one-on-one talks with Xi, Putin criticized what he described as an “ugly” effort by the United States and its allies to maintain their perceived global dominance.
“Attempts to create a unipolar world have recently taken an absolutely ugly form. They are absolutely unacceptable for the vast majority of countries in the world,” the Russian president said in opening remarks.
Xi was more circumspect, saying that together with Russia, China was willing to “set an example of a responsible world power and play a leading role in leading the rapidly changing world on a path of sustainable and positive development.”
The SCO summit in the ancient city of Samarkand is part of Xi’s first foreign trip since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 2 1/2 years ago, underscoring Beijing’s desire to assert itself as a regional power.
The meeting of the presidents came after Russia was forced to withdraw its forces from large swathes of northeastern Ukraine last week amid a swift Ukrainian counteroffensive. Ukraine regaining control of several Russian-held towns and cities represented Moscow’s biggest setback since its forces were forced to withdraw from areas near the Ukrainian capital at the start of the war.
Xi’s government, which said it had a “boundless” friendship with Moscow before the invasion of Ukraine in late February, has refused to criticize Russia’s military actions. Beijing and India are buying more Russian oil and gas, helping Moscow offset the impact of Western sanctions imposed over the invasion.
“We greatly appreciate the well-balanced position of our Chinese friends in relation to the Ukraine crisis,” Putin said at the start of his talks with Xi.
Russia, in turn, has strongly backed China amid tensions with the United States following a recent visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“We condemn the provocations by the US and its satellites in the Taiwan Strait,” Putin told Xi.
Putin also met Thursday with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, whose country is on track to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Raisi said Moscow and Tehran were finalizing an important treaty that would take their relations to a “strategic level”.
Both he and Putin criticized the US at the start of their meeting. Raisi accused the US of breaching its obligations under Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Putin told US officials: “They are masters of their word: they give it and then take it back when they want.”
The Russian leader also held meetings with Central Asian leaders and was scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
There was no indication whether Modi might meet Xi. Relations between India and China are strained due to clashes between the countries’ soldiers over a border dispute involving a remote area of the Himalayas.
Putin also plans to meet individually with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. Turkey and Azerbaijan have the status of “dialogue partners” with the OCS.
Earlier this week, Azerbaijan and Armenia engaged in cross-border shelling that killed 176 soldiers from both sides, marking the worst hostilities in nearly two years between the decades-old adversaries. The clashes have put Moscow in a precarious position, which has tried to maintain close ties with both countries.
Putin’s meeting with Erdogan will be closely watched for his remarks on Ukraine and a July deal brokered by Turkey and the UN to open the way for exports of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in seaports Black Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
The Chinese leader is promoting a “Global Security Initiative” announced in April after the formation of the Quad by Washington, Japan, Australia and India in response to Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy. Xi has given few details, but US officials complain that it echoes Russian arguments in support of Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.
The region is part of China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative to expand trade by building ports, railways and other infrastructure across an arc of dozens of countries from the South Pacific to Asia to the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
On Thursday, Xi met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov and said Beijing supports the “early operation” of a railway planned to link China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the ministry said of Chinese Foreign Affairs.
China’s economic incursions into Central Asia have fueled unease in Russia, which sees the region as its sphere of influence.
Xi made a one-day visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday en route to Uzbekistan. Pope Francis was in Kazakhstan, but they did not meet.