Chinese President Xi Jinping showed no signs of changing his stance on Russia's war against Ukraine after talks Thursday with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
He writes about it Politico.
On the second day of Macron's state visit to China, Xi backed his long-standing position on a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying "all sides" have "security concerns" and gave no hint that he would use his influence to help end the war," the article says.
The French president is said to have arrived in China on Wednesday, hoping to push Xi to use his influence on Russia. Macron also hoped to force China to speak out against Russia's desire to deploy nuclear missiles in Belarus.
In addition, the French president frankly caught his Chinese colleague by surprise when, at a meeting with the press, he called on him to directly condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine.
"Talking about peace and stability means talking about the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine. You made some important points. This is a war in which we are all involved because a member of the Security Council decided to violate the UN Charter. We cannot accept this," Macron said.
However, Xi limited himself to general statements about the need for warring parties to "protect victims, including women and children." This could be considered a jab at Russia, but the Chinese leader never mentioned Russia directly in his speech to the press.
"Peace talks must be resumed as soon as possible, taking into account the legitimate security concerns of all parties, referring to the UN Charter ... seeking a political settlement and building a balanced, effective and sustainable European security system," he added, sitting next to Macron.
Macron and Xi spent an hour and a half in bilateral talks, which an Elysee Palace official described as "frank and constructive", before signing several agreements - including the sale of Airbus jets - and cultural cooperation.
“But in a protocol error noticed by members of Xi's Chinese entourage, Macron spoke during the press conference for about twice as long as the Chinese leader. After reading his carefully prepared comments, looking straight ahead, Xi looked impatient and irritated at times as Macron continued to speak. Xi took a couple of deep sighs and appeared embarrassed when Macron addressed him directly, apparently improvising about the war in Ukraine and their shared responsibility for keeping the peace,” Politico reported.
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