Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the peace plan aimed at ending the war in Ukraine put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"We find that many of the positions in the peace plan put forward by China agree with Russian approaches and could become the basis for a peaceful solution, once the West and Kiev are ready for it," Putin said after talks with the Chinese head of state.
Xi said that China was adhering to the "aims and principles of the UN Charter." He stressed that China was taking an "objective and impartial position" on the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said the two leaders had discussed Ukraine for more than four hours on Monday. "There was an opportunity to clear everything up," Peskov said, adding the two had listened to each other. "That's the most important thing."
Russia and China said in a joint statement that the close partnership between them did not constitute a "military-political alliance."
"The parties note that relations between Russia and China, while not constituting a military-political alliance similar to those set up during the Cold War, are superior to this type of interstate cooperation," the two sides said after summit.
These relations "do not constitute a bloc, do not have a confrontational nature and are not directed against third countries", they said.
