Ukraine watches anxiously as China's Xi visits Kremlin
The Hindu
Beijing seeks to depict itself as a neutral party to the conflict, neither condemning nor explicitly supporting the Russian offensive
Ukraine awaits President Xi Jinping's visit to the Kremlin this week with apprehension, fearing that China may ultimately decide to supply its strategic ally with arms, influencing the outcome of the war.
Beijing seeks to depict itself as a neutral party to the conflict, neither condemning nor explicitly supporting the Russian offensive.
While China insists on respect for the principle of Ukraine's territorial integrity, it has also given real diplomatic support to Moscow since the invasion in February last year.
Lacking any lever of influence, Ukraine hopes that pressure from its Western allies on the Chinese leadership will help to preserve this fragile balance.
"Ukraine's expectations are at a minimum level: for things not to deteriorate," Sergiy Solodky, first deputy director of New Europe Center think tank in Kyiv, told AFP.
The topic is so sensitive that Ukrainian authorities do not wish to comment publicly on the trip, planned from March 20 to March 22 during which Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi are supposed to meet at least twice.
"Ukraine will follow this visit closely," a senior Ukrainian official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.