Xi Heads to Russia, Praising Putin and Saying Little About Ukraine

The Chinese government has cast Mr. Xi’s three-day state visit to Russia as a “trip for peace,” seeking to burnish his image as a global statesman after Beijing hosted talks this month that led to a significant agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

But even Chinese state media reports have played down the prospects of a breakthrough emerging from Mr. Xi’s talks with Mr. Putin and his expected phone call with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. After a year of bitter fighting in Ukraine, the gulf between Moscow and Kyiv is much wider than the one between Riyadh and Tehran, some reports noted. Read more

@nytimes