Sebastien Le Belzic
07:14, June 16, 2022
While Europe shows its solidarity with Ukraine, China, for its part, openly displays its support for Moscow. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday assured his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of Beijing’s unwavering support. Even after three and a half months of war in Ukraine and international condemnation, the Chinese authorities are sticking to their guns.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin had not spoken since the end of February, the day after the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. But after three and a half months of war and international condemnation, the Chinese position has not changed one iota. The conversation between the two presidents was reported by state media like CCTV newspaper on Wednesday night.
China backs Russia on ‘sovereignty and security’
Xi Jinping says he supports Russia in matters of sovereignty and security. For Zhang Xin, professor of political science at the University of Shanghai, Moscow’s attitude is completely understandable and, like Chinese power, it blames the Atlantic Alliance and the attitude of Western democracies.
Territories “historically stolen or occupied”
“This military operation in Ukraine was mainly aimed at trying to legitimately take back certain territories that have historically been ‘stolen’ or ‘occupied’ by other countries. Now is the time to take them back”, he explains at the microphone of Europe 1.
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