Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in China for a two-day state visit as the two countries look to further deepen a relationship that has grown closer since Moscow invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.

The visit comes days after Russia launched a new offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region and as it claims advances on the 1,000km (600-mile) long front line, where Kyiv’s forces have been hampered by delayed deliveries of weapons and ammunition from the United States.

Broadcast live on state television, Putin’s motorcade of nearly 20 vehicles, escorted by a formation of motorcyclists dressed in ceremonial white uniforms, arrived outside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People at about 11am (03:00 GMT) where the Russian president was met by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two countries’ anthems were played to the accompaniment of a gun salute, before the two leaders walked along the red carpets that had been laid out in the vast square to review the troops in a welcoming ceremony that lasted nearly half an hour. A group of children lined up next to the orchestra jumped and cheered as Putin and Xi walked past.

In discussions later, Xi greeted Putin as an “old friend”. He told Putin that China and Russia’s relationship had stood the test of time and that they had provided each other with “strategic guidance” in their more than 40 meetings over the past decade.

“China is ready to work with Russia to stay each other’s good neighbour, good friend and good partner,” state news agency Xinhua reported quoting Xi. The two men are expected to continue discussions over tea and a walk in the park, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Putin and Xi declared a “no limits” partnership days before Putin sent his troops into Ukraine in February 2022. In March 2023, when Xi visited Moscow, he described a “new era” in the countries’ relationship, while in October, when Putin last visited Beijing, Xi spoke of the “deep friendship” between the two men.

Before the trip, 71-year-old Putin said his choice of China as his first foreign destination since being sworn in as president for a fifth term underlined the “unprecedentedly high level of the strategic partnership” between the two countries as well as his close friendship with Xi, who is 70.

“We will try to establish closer cooperation in the field of industry and high technology, space and peaceful nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, renewable energy sources and other innovative sectors,” Putin told Xinhua.

The two leaders will take part in a gala evening to celebrate 75 years since the Soviet Union recognised the People’s Republic of China, declared by Mao Zedong following the communists’ victory in China’s civil war in 1949.

Putin will also visit Harbin in northeastern China, a city with strong ties to Russia.

In his interview with Xinhua, Putin also appeared to give his backing to a 12-point Ukraine peace plan that Beijing released to a lukewarm reception on the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2023.

He said the proposals could provide the basis for discussions and that Moscow was “open to a dialogue on Ukraine”. He reiterated the long-held Russian position that “negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said any negotiations must include a restoration of the country’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops from all Ukrainian territory, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Switzerland is convening a peace summit for Ukraine, focusing on Kyiv’s framework, next June. At least 50 delegations have already agreed to attend, but Russia has not been invited.

China claims to be neutral in the conflict but has not condemned Moscow for its invasion of a sovereign country.

Russia ‘useful’ for China

The Kremlin said in a statement that during their talks this week, Putin and Xi would “have a detailed discussion on the entire range of issues related to the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” and set “new directions for further development of cooperation between Russia and China”.

The two countries have made clear they want to remake the international order in line with their visions of how the world should be.

Speaking on Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Moscow and Beijing played a “major balancing role in global affairs”, and that Putin’s visit would “strengthen our joint work”.

Both countries are veto-holding members of the United Nations Security Council, alongside the United States, France and the United Kingdom.

“We should not underestimate Russia’s ‘usefulness’ as a friend without limits to China and Xi Jinping,” Sari Arho Havren, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, told Al Jazeera in an email. “Russia is a valuable partner in displacing the US and changing the global order to a favourable one for China and Russia alike. Russia also sees Taiwan as an integral part of China, and we have already seen speculation about the war scenario in the Indo-Pacific and whether Russia would step up to help and join China in possible war efforts.”

Moscow has forged increasingly close ties with Beijing, diverting most of its energy exports to China and importing high-tech components for its military industries from Chinese companies amid Western sanctions.

The two countries have also deepened military ties, holding joint war games over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, and organising training for ground forces in each other’s territory.

China has stepped up military activity around self-ruled Taiwan as the island prepares for the May 20 inauguration of William Lai Ching-te, who was elected president in elections in January.

China claims the territory as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goal.

With reporting by Erin Hale in Taipei, Taiwan

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing Thursday with a military band serenade and a multiple gun salute outside the capital’s Great Hall of the People, heralding the start of a two-day state visit set to underline the leaders’ close alignment as Russian troops advance in Ukraine.

The visit — Putin’s symbolic first overseas foray since entering a new term as Russia’s president last week – is a mark of Xi’s support for Putin and the latest sign of the deepening relations as the two bind their countries closer in the face of heavy frictions with the West.

During talks Thursday morning, Xi said China-Russian relations have “stood the test of a changing international landscape” and should be “cherished and nourished” by both sides, according to a readout from China’s Foreign Ministry.

“China is ready to work with Russia to stay each other’s good neighbor, good friend and good partner that trust each other, continue to consolidate the lasting friendship between the two peoples, and jointly pursue respective national development and revitalization and uphold fairness and justice in the world,” Xi said.

Putin hailed the countries’ “practical cooperation,” pointing to their record bilateral trade last year and China’s prominence as an economic partner for Russia, according to Russian state media Tass. The Russian president said energy, industry, and agriculture were among his cooperation priorities and the leaders had “already started talking” about this.

Putin’s red-carpet welcome to Beijing comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced via his office that he would halt all upcoming international visits, as his troops defend against a surprise Russian offensive in his country’s northeastern Kharkiv region.

The meeting in Beijing – Putin and Xi’s fourth time speaking face-to-face since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – comes amid mounting international concern about the direction of the war amid delays in aid to Ukraine and as Russia’s economy and defense complex appears unbowed by Western sanctions.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Kyiv earlier this week to reaffirm the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine after months of Congressional delay in approving American military aid to the embattled country. Blinken pledged $2 billion in foreign military financing and said much-needed ammunition and weapons are being rushed to the front lines.

Xi welcomes Putin under pressure from both the US and Europe to ensure soaring exports from China to Russia since the start of the war aren’t propping up the Kremlin’s war effort.

White House officials in recent weeks have confronted Beijing on what they believe is substantial support – in the form of goods like machine tools, drone and turbojet engines and microelectronics – from China for Russia’s defense industrial base. Beijing has slammed the US as making “groundless accusations” over “normal trade and economic exchanges” between China and Russia.

Discussions in Beijing

The war in Ukraine, as well as the conflict in Gaza, was expected to feature in Xi and Putin’s meetings in Beijing Thursday, alongside discussions on their expanding trade, security and energy ties.

Ahead of the trip, Putin hailed the “unprecedented level of strategic partnership” between the countries in an interview with Chinese state media Xinhua.

He said the leaders aimed to “strengthen foreign policy coordination” and deepen cooperation in “industry and high-tech, outer space and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and other innovative sectors.”

He also praised China’s “approaches to resolving the crisis in Ukraine.” Beijing has never condemned Russia’s invasion, rather it claims neutrality in the conflict. Ahead of an expected peace conference in Switzerland last month, Xi has called for peace talks that take both sides’ positions into account.

The two leaders – who declared a “no limits” partnership weeks before the February 2022 invasion and are known for their personal chemistry – have continued to strengthen their countries’ diplomatic, trade and security ties since the start of the war. Xi also visited Moscow in 2023 for his first international visit after entering his new term as China’s president.

Both leaders view the other as indispensable partners in their converging vision to reshape a world order they see as dominated by the United States and seeking to contain their rise. They are expected to discuss Russia’s hosting of the BRICS grouping later this year. The bloc, positioned as an alternative to the Western-backed G7, expanded earlier this year to include more members, including US-hostile Iran.

Xi and Putin are also set to sign a number of bilateral agreements, the Kremlin said earlier this week. They will celebrate 75 years of their diplomatic relations at a “gala event,” according to Chinese state media.

Besides meeting with Xi in Beijing, Putin is also expected to visit Harbin, the capital of China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province bordering Russia’s Far East, where he will attend trade and cooperation forums.

The region, historically a site of long simmering border tensions between the two neighbors, which erupted in conflict between China and the Soviet Union in 1969 – has seen increasing connectivity with parts of Russia’s Far East in recent years.

Putin is also expected to meet with the students and faculty of Harbin Institute of Technology, a university sanctioned by the US government in 2020 for its alleged role in procuring items for China’s military.

(Source: AOL.)

The authoritarian leaders aim to underscore their unity during the two-day state visit.

Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing for a two-day visit, with Chinese state media calling the Russian president an “old friend”.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russia’s number one with full military honours at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of China’s capital.

The trip – underscoring the close ties between the two autocratic leaders – comes as Moscow intensifies its offensive in Ukraine, with Ukrainian troops pulling back in Kharkiv on Wednesday.

Xi said the two countries were deepening their relationship as “good neighbours, good friends, good partners,” according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. 

Beijing has emerged as a lifeline for Moscow as Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine have cut much of its access to international trade. 

In July 2023, a US intelligence report alleged China had “probably” provided Moscow with key technology, including drones and fighter jet parts, it was using to wage war in Ukraine.

Before arriving in Beijing, Putin said in an interview with Chinese media that the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine. 

“We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours,” the Russian leader was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

He also praised China for its initiatives aimed at “resolving the crisis in Ukraine”.

“Unfortunately, neither Ukraine nor its Western patrons support these initiatives,” claimed Putin. “They are not ready to engage in an equal, honest and open dialogue based on mutual respect and consideration of each other’s interests.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said any negotiations must include a restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees for Kyiv.

China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, though experts previously told Euronews its stance is complicated, pushed and pulled in competing directions.

Beijing has backed Moscow’s contentious claim that Russia was provoked into attacking Ukraine by the West, despite Putin’s saying he wants to restore Russia’s century-old borders as the reason for his assault.

In their meeting after dawn on Thursday, China’s number one congratulated Putin on securing a fifth term in office.

Putin faced no credible opposition in the presidential race, and, like Xi, has not laid out any plans for any potential successors.

Russia’s forces have pressed an offensive in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region that began last week, marking the most significant border incursion since the full-scale invasion began in 2022

Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from positions in villages around Kharkiv, meanwhile almost 8,000 people have fled their homes.

(Source: Euronews)

Yama Bariz and Caroline Davies,

The day after the flood waters hit, Noor Mohammed found the bodies of his family in the street and in the fields.

The 75-year-old had been just 100m away from his home in northern Afghanistan when he heard the deadly roar of water approaching.

Noor ran towards the house where his wife, sister, son and two of his grandchildren were resting.

But it was too late.

The sudden torrent of water swept away his family and home.

Flash floods hit on Friday, caused by a combination of unusually heavy storms following a dry winter, which has left the ground too hard to absorb all the rain. The destruction stretches for miles.

The World Food Programme says more than 300 people have died and 2,000 homes destroyed in the flooding, which affected five districts in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan. The number of casualties is expected to rise.

The provinces of Badakhshan, Ghor and western Herat were also severely damaged.

“I felt helpless,” Noor says.

Afghanistan floods: ‘I found my family’s bodies in the streets’

7 hours ago

By Yama Bariz and Caroline Davies,in Baghlan province, AfghanistanShare

The day after the flood waters hit, Noor Mohammed found the bodies of his family in the street and in the fields.

The 75-year-old had been just 100m away from his home in northern Afghanistan when he heard the deadly roar of water approaching.

Noor ran towards the house where his wife, sister, son and two of his grandchildren were resting.

But it was too late.

The sudden torrent of water swept away his family and home.

Flash floods hit on Friday, caused by a combination of unusually heavy storms following a dry winter, which has left the ground too hard to absorb all the rain. The destruction stretches for miles.

The World Food Programme says more than 300 people have died and 2,000 homes destroyed in the flooding, which affected five districts in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan. The number of casualties is expected to rise.

The provinces of Badakhshan, Ghor and western Herat were also severely damaged.

“I felt helpless,” Noor says.

It was early evening when he frantically searched the area around his home in the village of Gaz in Baghlan, but could not find any trace of his family.

He gave up at 01:00 and, in the middle of the night, walked to his daughter Saeeda’s house three hours away.

He returned home the next day and found the bodies of his family.

“It was devastating,” he says.

Noor says he has never experienced anything like it in his life – either from the natural disasters that frequently hit the area or the civil wars that have plagued the country.

Saeeda, whose 25-year-old daughter was one of Noor’s grandchildren who died, says the approaching storm sounded like a monster and they were terrified.

In Noor’s village, which is still inaccessible by road, most families have lost at least two or three relatives in the floods and are in desperate need of help.

“We have travelled to areas where everything is completely gone,” says Rouzatullah, a nurse who visited one of the worst-hit villages called Fullol with his team.

Uprooted trees, rocks, bricks and mangled cars stick out of the thick mud in Fullol. Once sticky with water, in the heat it has started to harden, making it even more difficult for those still digging, pulling out possessions.

Muhammad Gul is using a shovel to dig through the two rooms of his house.

“We haven’t got even a glass left for a cup of tea, there is nothing,” he tells the BBC. The only thing he has been able to salvage is a twisted bicycle which he loads onto a donkey.

Days after the flooding, some families are still searching for the bodies of their loved ones. At one house a crowd gathers. The body of a girl has been found; she is covered in a sheet and taken away by an ambulance.

Rouzatullah rushed to the area along with 15 other nurses, paramedics and doctors.

He says they helped more than 200 injured people, including one man who had lost 16 members of his family.

But they have not been able to reach some remote areas where people desperately need aid.

“There is no drinking water,” Rouzatullah says, warning there might be outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid and dysentery.

In the areas they have been able to reach, the team has started to set up mobile aid centres and are working to remove the dead bodies.

At each village the BBC is met with another story of loss.

One man shows us a picture of his five-year-old nephew, Abu Bakar. He was playing with his grandfather when the water hit. As they tried to escape, Abu Bakar was swept away. He had clung so tightly to his grandfather’s leg as he tried to save himself that he left a mark. His mother could only watch as he lost his grip.

Abdul Khaliq was out of town when he heard about the flood. By the time he returned, all that was left of his family’s houses was one small piece of bathroom wall. The rest is now flattened. Of 18 people, 10 of his family died, swept away.

“We were searching family members in knee-deep mud, so we took off our shoes and continued searching,” he says. “Eventually, we found their bodies miles away from here.”

Others tell of the moment disaster struck – a shout went out that water was coming. Some were able to get out of its path, but lost all their possessions.

“I struggled to reach the next floor amidst the chaos. Our home and all our livestock were swept away,” says Zuhra Bibi, who is now sleeping in a tarpaulin tent.

She says she’s never seen anything like this before in her lifetime. Flooding is not uncommon, but in 20, 40, 60 years, we are told, none have seen a flood like this in their area.

In the village of Gudan Bala, Mohammad Rasool is chain-smoking cigarettes next to a field where his crops once grew. Now the field is a pool of thick muddy water.

Acres of farmland – fields of cotton and wheat crops – have been completely destroyed. We drive through wheatfields that have been cut in two by the force of the water, ripping out the green stalks, leaving grey rubble behind.

Mohammad feels fortunate that his family has survived, but says he has lost everything else.

He shows me the fields where his crops have been ruined.

“This was the only source of income I had,” he says. “I feel helpless.”

Like 80% of Afghans, he depends on agriculture for his income. Mohammad says he is not sure how they will survive.

He points to the remains of his house in the distance. He cannot return because the flood waters are still too high.

“I don’t have anything now, what should I do? I have family to provide for but I have nothing.”

Even before the floods hit, the UN estimated that about 24 million people, more than half the population of Afghanistan, would need some form of humanitarian assistance this year.

It is not just crops that have been affected. Mohammed says his neighbour lost his two cows in the floods. They were the man’s only way of making a living.

And Noor, who is staying with his daughter, says the only possessions he has left are the clothes he is wearing. He had lived in the house that was swept away since he was a young boy – his father built it 65 years ago.

“I had hopes about the future,” he says. “My son and granddaughter were teachers and I was proud because they were contributing to the future of the country.”

Both are now dead. “The floods took everything,” he says.

(Source: BBC)