End of the Chinese president’s visit to Russia

In a joint statement with Cold War overtones, the two leaders thus sharply attacked the West, accusing the United States of “undermining” international security to maintain its “military advantage”, and expressed their “concern” over NATO’s growing presence in Asia.

Mr. Xi’s trip to Moscow was an important show of support for the Russian head of state, who has been the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) since last week.

The Chinese president’s visit to Russia also comes at a time when the latter has massively reoriented its economy towards China, in the face of Western sanctions targeting it.

In this context, Mr. Putin announced on Tuesday that he had reached an agreement with Mr. Xi on the gigantic Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline project, which will allow Russia to supply an additional 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

Treated as a pariah by the West since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Mr. Putin can count on Beijing to break his isolation: Mr. Xi has invited him to visit China this year. Agency

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