Chinese defence minister hails Putin for ‘promoting world peace’ | CPT PPP Coverage

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China’s defence minister Li Shangfu congratulated the “extraordinary” Vladimir Putin for “promoting world peace” despite Moscow’s year-long war in Ukraine, according to reports.

A clip posted on Chinese company NetEase Inc’s video platform appears to show Mr Li reading a prepared remark from a notebook in a meeting with the Russian president and defence minister Sergei Shoigu on Sunday.

Their meeting took place days after Chinese president Xi Jinping met his Russian counterpart in Moscow last month.

“Mr president is an extraordinary state leader deeply loved by the Russian people, has made excellent achievements in leading the development and revitalisation of Russia, and made important contributions to promoting world peace and development,” Mr Li said, according to Bloomberg.

“I hereby pay my sincerest respects to you.”

The statement highlighted the strong ties between the two nations even as China positioned itself as a peacebroker in the war.

Beijing has declared a “no-limits” friendship with Russia and has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, while adding that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries be respected.

China has, however, condemned Western sanctions on Russia and accused Nato of provoking Moscow.

Mr Xi has spoken to his Russian counterpart on multiple occasions since the onset of the war in February 2022, but is yet to have a dialogue with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

During Sunday’s meeting, Mr Putin and the Chinese defence minister hailed military cooperation between the two nations.

“We are working actively through our military departments, regularly exchange useful information, work together in the field of military-technical cooperation, and hold joint exercises,” Mr Putin said.

The exercises, he added, had been held in the Far East as well as Europe and involved ground, naval and air forces.

“Undoubtedly, this is another crucial area that strengthens the extremely trusting, strategic nature of our relations,” Mr added.

Mr Putin, meanwhile, visited security forces in parts of the southern Kherson region in occupied Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

A video released by the Kremlin showed Mr Putin visiting the command post for Russian forces in Kherson. He then moved by helicopter to the headquarters of the Russian National Guard in the Luhansk region to hear reports about the situation there.

Russia took the Kherson and Luhansk regions into its fold along with the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in September in a move that was rejected by most of the world as illegal annexation.