Putin, Xi to discuss China’s Ukraine peace plan in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes President Xi Jinping to Moscow for a state visit and says the pair will discuss Beijing’s Ukraine peace proposal.
Ukraine and the United Kingdom have called on the Chinese leader to use his influence and press Moscow to end the war.‘Today, we will sign the respective documents’: Germany
EU member states have reached an agreement on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels.

“Today, we will sign the respective documents,” he told reporters.

He added that Germany would also open its national framework contracts as speed was of the essence.

“Our goal has to be to ship a significant amount of munitions to Ukraine before the end of this year,” Pistorius underscored.China’s Xi ‘convinced’ Russians support Putin
China’s Xi told Putin in talks at the Kremlin that he was “convinced” that Putin enjoyed the Russian people’s support ahead of a presidential election scheduled for next year.

“I know that next year there will be another presidential election in your country,” Xi told Putin through an interpreter.

“Thanks to your strong leadership, Russia has made significant progress in achieving the prosperity of the country in recent years. I am sure that the Russian people will strongly support you in your good endeavours.”

Xi also called Putin his “dear friend”, and Putin used the same term with his guest.

The Chinese president also thanked Putin for what he said was his support for China and said that Beijing should have close relations with Moscow.

Putin tells Xi that he has looked at China’s peace proposal
Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin that he had looked at China’s proposals for a resolution of the Ukraine conflict and that he viewed them with respect.

Speaking at informal talks at the start of Xi’s state visit to Moscow, Putin also said that Russia was “slightly envious” of China’s rapid development in recent decades.Britain hopes China will press Putin on ‘atrocities’
The UK said that China should back up its support for the respect of territorial integrity and demand that Russia end its war in Ukraine.

“We hope President Xi uses this opportunity to press President (Vladimir) Putin to cease bombing Ukrainian cities, hospitals, schools, to halt some of these atrocities that we are seeing on a daily basis,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said as Xi and Putin meet in Moscow.
EU to supply Ukraine with ammunition over next 12 months
European Union countries plan to supply Ukraine with a million rounds of artillery ammunition over the next 12 months, EU diplomats told the German press association.

Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted about the meeting of foreign and defence ministers and said the decision would “bolster Ukraine’s capabilities”.

He said: “More artillery ammunition for Ukraine as fast as possible. This was the main focus of today’s EU Foreign Affairs Council. I anticipate the swift adoption of big decisions which will bolster Ukraine’s capabilities on the battlefield.”

Putin says Russia will provide grain to Africa for free
Putin said on Monday that Russia would provide grain to African countries for free if the Black Sea grain deal is not extended in May.

Speaking to delegates at a Russia-Africa parliamentary conference, Putin said that only a tiny amount of grain exports unblocked under the deal had reached Africa and that the fulfilment of Russian conditions for the deal’s renewal was in Africa’s interest.

Moscow also said it would not agree to renew the grain deal in May unless issues around the Swift financial messaging system are resolved, and other restrictions are lifted.

On its website, the Russian foreign ministry said Moscow had decided to limit the deal’s extension to 60 days, until May 18, over what it called “a lack of progress… on normalisation of domestic agricultural exports”.Ukraine expects Beijing to use influence over Russia: Spokesperson
Kyiv expects China to use its influence on Russia to end the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said.

“Ukraine is following the Chinese President’s visit to Russia closely,” Nikolenko said in a statement to Reuters shortly after China’s Xi arrived in Moscow for talks with Putin.

“We expect Beijing to use its influence on Moscow to make it put an end to the aggressive war against Ukraine.”

Kyiv says any negotiations surrounding a peace deal must involve a full withdrawal of Russian troops and respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

“We stand ready to engage in a closer dialogue with China in order to restore peace in Ukraine in accordance with the principles enshrined in the UN Charter, and the latest UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) resolution on this matter,” Nikolenko said.