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White House: The Putin-Xi meeting will not end the war in Ukraine

White House: The Putin-Xi meeting will not end the war in Ukraine

In Moscow, the President of China, Xi Jinping was received with high honors. President Putin hosted a state dinner.

"As permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia will continue to work with the international community to resolutely protect the basic norms of international relations based on the goals and principles of the UN Charter," the president said. of China, Xi Jinping.

President Xi called for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, a call supported by President Putin.

"We believe that many points of China's peace plan are similar to Russian positions and can form the basis for a peaceful solution, when the West and Kiev are ready for it. However, we still do not see such readiness from their side", said the Russian leader, Putin.

The White House rejected President Putin's claim.

"We haven't seen anything they've said or presented that gives us hope that this war will end soon," said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

Ahead of the Putin-Xi meeting, the US warned against a Chinese-brokered ceasefire, saying it would be confirmation of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The meeting of the two leaders, however, did not produce a ceasefire proposal. Kirby said the US would support talks brokered by Beijing if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believed they would lead to a just peace. For Mr. Zelenskyy, this would be achieved if in advance Russian troops withdraw from all Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia.

"I doubt that Russia would agree to this condition. They have rejected it, not even considering it as a starting point for negotiations," said George Beebe, from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, an American non-governmental organization based in Washington.

President Zelenskyy met on Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the latest leader of the Western alliance to visit Kiev.

"Given Japan's strength, its influence in Asia in safeguarding international peace and order, and Japan's responsibility as the chair of the Group of 7 most industrialized countries (G7), our talks today can truly produce a result with global impact ", said the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

After his meeting with President Putin, the Chinese president may also hold a telephone conversation with President Zelenskyy, but this has not been confirmed./VOA