China says report that Xi stated Putin would remorse invasion is ‘completely fabricated out of thin air’
China has refuted claims Xi Jinping told Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin could regret invading Ukraine as the Russian leader arrived in Beijing on Tuesday.
Mr Xi is reported to have made the remarks during wide-ranging talks between the US and Chinese delegations in Beijing last week, according to the Financial Times.
“The information you mentioned does not match the facts and is completely fabricated out of thin air,” foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters.
An X account for the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs’ spokesperson added: “Completely false”, alongside a picture of the headline.
Mr Putin’s two-day visit comes less than a week after the US leader’s high-profile attendance and is his 25th to China.
The alleged comment suggests a tension between the two staunch allies, despite Beijing’s continued military and economic support. Mr Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022 came three weeks after Russia signed a “no-limits” partnership agreement with China.
Reports also alleged that Trump posited that Russia, China and the US should join forces against the International Criminal Court.
China denied the claims on Tuesday, with foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun telling a reporter: “The information you mentioned does not match the facts and is completely fabricated out of thin air.”
Ahead of his visit on Tuesday, Putin emphasised the close relationship between the two countries, saying they were ready to support each other on a wide range of issues including national unity and protection of sovereignty.
The Kremlin said the two sides will discuss the proposed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which could one day deliver an additional 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year from Russia‘s Arctic gas fields via Mongolia to China.
“During the visit, the two heads of state will exchange views on cooperation across all areas of bilateral relations, as well as on international and regional issues of mutual concern,” Guo Jiakun, spokesperson at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a regular news conference on Monday.
Military experts have said that Ukraine may be gaining ground due to its innovation and strategy in drone warfare, combined with growing fatigue in the Russian military and domestic pressure on Putin.
Putin has faced a slow drop in popularity according to opinion polls, with ordinary Russians facing internet disruption and a sluggish economy.
With Ukraine increasing its long-range drone strikes, it has become increasingly difficult for the Kremlin to cast the war as something that does not affect the daily lives of Russian citizens.
Over the weekend, Ukraine launched a massive weekend aerial attack in the Moscow region that killed three people, according to Russian authorities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack in the capital’s suburbs was retribution for relentless Russian missile and drone strikes on the capital of Kyiv and other cities last week.
Trump had claimed last week that the end to the war was “getting very close”, even though US efforts to help broker an end to the fighting have failed to make any significant progress and are effectively on hold since the start of the war in Iran.
Source: independent.co.uk
