‘Marriage Of Convenience’: White House Weighs in on the Putin/Xi Summit
Chinese leader should urge Russian chief to exit Ukraine, spokesman says
The Biden White House is providing its assessment of the summit between the leaders of China and Russia, even as those two men continued their meetings in Moscow.
But one thing is clear from the relationship between China's leader, Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, according to White House national security spokesman John Kirby: Xi could be using his influence to push Putin to end his brutal and unlawful invasion of Ukraine.
Xi has been in Moscow since this weekend, for several days of talks with Putin, a meeting of two of the world's most powerful autocrats.
Kirby, from the White House in Washington DC, commented on the days-long encounter between Xi and Putin, particularly as it relates to the war in Ukraine. That war is now in its second year.
He pointedly refused to call the budding relationship between China and Russia “an alliance.”
Rather, he referred to it as a “marriage of convenience,” “because that’s what I think it is.”
“In President Putin and Russia, President Xi sees a counterweight to American influence and NATO influence certainly on the continent and elsewhere around the world,” Kirby said.
Specifically, Kirby spoke Tuesday about the joint statement between China and Russia that they put out on deepening their cooperation, including on Ukraine.
“On Ukraine, I would note that the two sides just said, quote, ‘The purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter must be observed, and international law must be respected.’ Well, we agree,” Kirby said. “Following the U.N. Charter would mean that Russia should withdraw from all the territory inside Ukraine, the territory of another member state of the U.N. — a member that it has invaded. The U.N. Charter enshrines the principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine.
“And they also said, quote, ‘The parties call for the cessation of all steps that contribute to escalation of tension and the prolongation of hostilities,’ We agree,” Kirby added. “One way to stop the hostilities is to pull Russian troops out of Ukraine.
“But short of that, Mr. Putin could stop bombing hospitals, could stop bombing schools. He could stop launching Iranian drones into civilian infrastructure. He could stop the forcible deportation of young kids — thousands of them — putting them in filtration camps inside other places inside Ukraine but also inside Russia. He could stop reducing cities like Bakhmut to bricks — to piles of bricks. That is a way to stop the prolongation of hostilities,” he said. “So, now, if China wants to play a constructive role here in this conflict, then they ought to press Russia to pull its troops out of Ukraine and Ukrainian sovereign territory. They should urge President Putin to cease bombing cities, hospitals, and schools; to stop the war crimes and the atrocities; and end the war today. It could happen right now.”
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