Chinese leader Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump during their talks last week that Kremlin head Vladimir Putin may eventually regret his invasion of Ukraine, Financial Times reports, according to UNN.
Details
According to several people familiar with the US assessment of last week's summit in Beijing, the Chinese leader made these comments during broad talks that touched on Ukraine and included a proposal by Trump that the three leaders cooperate against the International Criminal Court.
Xi's comments regarding Putin's decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as the publication writes, "appeared to go further than in the past." One person familiar with Xi's meetings with former US President Joe Biden said that while the leaders had "candid and direct" conversations about Russia and Ukraine, Xi did not offer an assessment of Putin and the war.
The revelation comes as Putin prepares to arrive in China on Tuesday for a summit with Xi, four days after the Chinese leader hosted the US President for their second meeting since Trump's return to the White House.
Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, three weeks after a trip to China during which he and Xi announced a "no limits" partnership. His two-day visit this week takes place 25 years after then-President Jiang Zemin signed a Sino-Russian friendship treaty with Putin.
The Trump administration released a fact sheet on the Beijing summit on Sunday, but it contained no mention of conversations about Putin or the war in Ukraine.
During the summit with Xi, Trump also suggested that the US, China, and Russia join forces to combat the International Criminal Court, stating that their interests align, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
Xi's comment about Putin came as Russia's war against Ukraine has reached a stalemate after four years, especially after Ukraine became effective in using drone strikes to attack Russian forces and targets, the publication notes.
The Biden administration frequently accused China of supplying Russia with dual-use goods, which helped it sustain its campaign against Ukraine. The Trump administration has also expressed concern, but less frequently.
"Brave Ukrainians... have reimagined war in the same way that World War I reimagined war for the 21st century," said Brendan Boyle, a congressman from Philadelphia and the lead Democrat in the US delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. "Drone warfare has now become the norm and is revolutionizing the way war is waged."
China and the US hope for a swift end to the war in Ukraine - Wang Yi16.05.26, 17:47