What did President Putin say before his visit to China?

Moscow [Russia], May 15: In an interview with China's Xinhua news agency before his visit to Beijing this week, President Putin affirmed that Russia is still ready for dialogue and negotiations to resolve the war that has lasted more than two years with Ukraine .
According to the Russian leader, China's plan as well as a number of other "principles" announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping last month take into account the factors behind the conflict.
"We positively evaluate China's approach to resolving the Ukraine crisis... In Beijing, they really understand the root causes and geopolitical implications of this on a global scale." demand," Mr. Putin said in an interview published by Xinhua News Agency on May 15.
The Russian President said that the four additional principles that Mr. Xi raised in his recent talks with German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz in Beijing were "practical and constructive steps" aimed at "cultivating the idea that we We need to overcome the Cold War mentality."
The Kremlin and the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on May 14 that Mr. Putin would visit China on May 16-17, the leader's first foreign trip after taking office for a new term.
More than a year ago, Beijing announced its "12-point" stance outlining general principles to end the fighting in Ukraine but did not go into details. At the time, the plan was well received in both Moscow and Kyiv.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last month that Beijing's proposal was "a reasonable plan that the great Chinese civilization put forward for discussion," according to Reuters.
Xi's additional principles call for "cooling down" the situation, creating conditions to restore peace, establish stability and minimize the impact on the world economy.
Russia sees the conflict with Ukraine as a struggle against the "Western collective", accusing the West of ignoring Moscow's security concerns by pushing NATO to expand eastward and increasing military activity closer to home. this country's borders.
Russia calls the war in Ukraine a "special military operation" aimed at disarming Ukraine and fighting fascism. Ukraine and the West say Moscow's accusations of fascism are baseless.
Russia and China announced their "unlimited" relationship just days before Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022. But so far, Beijing has avoided providing real weapons and ammunition to the Russian military.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's "10-point" peace plan calls for Russia to withdraw its troops, restore borders to the 1991 state and hold Russia responsible for its actions.
A "peace conference" that Kyiv has long been pushing for is scheduled to take place in Switzerland in June. However, Russia was not invited, calling the initiative meaningless and saying negotiations must take into account " new reality".
China has attended some of the talks seen as a stepping stone to the conference, and Ukraine has launched major efforts to persuade Beijing to attend the event in Switzerland.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper