Xi welcomes 'dear friend' Putin in Beijing for Belt and Road forum

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Oct 2023 20:35

China is due to send its Middle East envoy Zhai Jun to the region this week, but no details as to where or when Zhai would travel or arrive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

"Dear friend" Russian President Vladimir Putin was welcomed in Beijing on Tuesday by Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, kicking off a multilateral summit that hosts representatives of 130 countries for Xi's vast trade and infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

This is Putin's first trip to a major global power since the war in Ukraine.

Video posted by Russia's foreign ministry showed the two presidents shaking hands and exchanging smiles after which they partook in a group photo with other leaders at the summit.

According to the Kremlin, Putin is expected to conduct talks with Xi on the forum's sidelines of the forum on Wednesday, in light of the current Israeli massacres in Gaza.

In its statement, the Kremlin said: "During the talks, special attention will be paid to international and regional issues".

With that being said, the US has asked China to influence the de-escalation of the bombardments which have now left almost 3,000 Palestinians martyred.

Joining forces to take action

China is due to send its Middle East envoy Zhai Jun to the region this week, but no details as to where or when Zhai will travel or arrive have been provided.

The Chinese foreign ministry reported last week that during a phone call with the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine, Zhai stated that "The way out of the vicious circle and the pacification of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict consists in returning to the Two States for Two Peoples plan, resuming peace talks, creating an independent Palestinian state and achieving peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel."

In response to that, the US expressed "disappointment' in China's stance and its backing of Palestine. US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, already said that this is the worst attack on "Israel" since the 1973 war, referring to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood launched by Palestinian resistance.

In turn, Russia has called for an "immediate ceasefire" while the UN Security Council voted on Tuesday to reject a Russia-proposed draft resolution to resolve the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The resolution on Monday received four votes in favor, five against, and six abstentions.

"We regret that the council once again has found itself a hostage to the ego, to the selfish intentions of the Western bloc of countries," Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said after the vote.

Following other states' draft resolution proposals, the Russian mission to the United Nations included amendments to its resolution to condemn the indiscriminate Israeli strikes against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and call for a humanitarian ceasefire amid the dire situation for the civilians there.