China has supported Russia in its push to get Western security guarantees precluding NATO’s eastward expansion, the Kremlin has said.
During Wednesday’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he “understands Russia’s concerns and fully supports our initiative to work out these security guarantees for Russia,” Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said.
Both leaders spoke in a virtual meeting as Moscow faces heightened tensions with the West over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine’s border.
Putin told Xi about “mounting threats to Russia’s national interests from the US and the NATO bloc, which consistently move their military infrastructure close to the Russian borders,” Ushakov, said.
He said the pair also expressed their “negative view” of the creation of new military alliances such as the AUKUS partnership between Australia, Britain and the United States and the Asia-Pacific “Quad” of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
In recent weeks, Western nations have mounted diplomatic pressure to prevent a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia denies harbouring plans to storm its neighbour and seeks guarantees that NATO will not expand to Ukraine or deploy troops and weapons there.
On Wednesday, Moscow passed its proposals to US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried, who visited the Russian capital and met with Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov.
