On Thursday, May 16, the dictator of the Russian Federation met with his counterpart Xi Jinping in the capital of China, Beijing. The Chinese leader was the first person Putin visited after his inauguration, and the purpose of the visit could be Xi's desire to see what are the plans of the Kremlin's master.

Stepan Gavrysh, former Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council, told about this at the air of Apostrophe TV.

According to Havrysh, the meeting between Putin and Xi was a demonstration of China's strategy to increase its influence in the world.

"China is demonstrating that it will maintain ties with Russia, but it is not clear what kind of ties these will be," Havrysh said.

The purpose of this meeting may also be Xi Jinping's desire to see if Putin has a plan to end the war.

Gavrysh pointed out that Russia will not be represented at the Ukraine-initiated Peace Summit in Switzerland, but it will know what is happening there and possibly influence the events.

Statements by Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin

President Xi recently returned from France, where he faced pressure from European leaders to limit the supply of dual-use goods to Russia.

In France, Xi suggested to Macron that China should not be blamed for the war in Ukraine because "China did not start this crisis and is not involved in it." He also warned that if the West will impose sanctions on China as an ally of Russia for what the Kremlin is doing in Ukraine, it will lead to a ‘new Cold War’.

In an interview with Chinese media, Putin also said that the US and Europe are restricting Russia and not allowing it to choose where to develop.

"Western elites, led by the United States, refuse to respect civilisational and cultural diversity, reject traditional values that have been formed over centuries. In an attempt to maintain their global dominance, they have given themselves the right to tell other nations with whom they can and cannot be friends and cooperate. They deny them the right to choose their own development models," Putin said.

What is Putin's peace plan?

"We want a comprehensive, sustainable and fair settlement of this conflict by peaceful means. And we are open to dialogue on Ukraine, but these should be negotiations that take into account the interests of all countries involved in this conflict, including our interests," the Kremlin leader said.

He also did not forget about Russia.

"Along with a serious conversation about global stability, about security guarantees for both the opposing side and, of course, for Russia. And these must be reliable guarantees," Putin said.

Earlier, Apostrophe wrote about Putin's new conditions before his visit to China.