Chinese President Xi Jinping supported Russian President Vladimir Putin in his demand for Western security guarantees preventing NATO’s eastward expansion, the Kremlin said Wednesday after the two leaders held a virtual summit, AP News reported.
Putin and Xi Jinping spoke amid Moscow's escalation of tensions with the West over a Russian military buildup by the Ukrainian border. In recent weeks, Western nations engaged in diplomatic efforts to prevent a possible invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied harboring plans of a military attack, yet demanded guarantees that NATO will not expand to Ukraine or deploy troops and weapons there.
Putin told Xi about “mounting threats to Russia’s national interests from the U.S. and the NATO bloc, which consistently move their military infrastructure close to the Russian borders,” Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, stated.
The Russian leader stressed the need to hold talks with NATO and the U.S. on legally binding security guarantees, according to Ushakov. Xi responded by saying he “understands Russia’s concerns and fully supports our initiative to work out these security guarantees for Russia,” Ushakov said.