From the FT: A dangerous friendship. Xi should use leverage on Russian reliance

By the Editorial Board of the Financial Times 

China called Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow this week "a journey of friendship". Few people know what China's leader said privately in two days of talks with his "dear friend" Vladimir Putin. There was little public sign, though, that he put any meaningful pressure on Russia's president to end his war in Ukraine. Indeed, Beijing reinforced western impressions that it is firmly in Moscow's camp.

A joint statement to which Xi put his name on Tuesday did not demand that Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine, honour Ukraine's internationally recognised borders or even repeat the call for a ceasefire that Beijing made in a "position paper" on the conflict last month. The statement said the "purposes and principles" of the UN charter must be observed — but failed to condemn Moscow's glaring violation of the article stating that UN members should refrain from the "use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state".

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