Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced willingness to have high-level negotiations with Ukraine during phone talks Friday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the Foreign Ministry said, a day after Moscow invaded the former Soviet republic by land, air and sea.
Xi told Putin that Beijing supports Moscow in efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis through dialogue, the Chinese ministry said, adding he emphasized the necessity of respecting the legitimate security concerns of all countries.
Russia started to attack Ukraine following a months-long military buildup on their border, which was called "a full-scale invasion" by Kyiv. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sounded out Putin on holding negotiations.
China has reiterated it understands Russia's security concerns related to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. On Feb. 4, Xi and Putin opposed the expansion of NATO, as Moscow has demanded that it pull back troops and weapons from Eastern Europe.
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Putin was quoted by the ministry as saying the United States and NATO have long ignored Russia's reasonable security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments and continued to advance military deployment eastward, challenging its strategic bottom line.
Xi told Putin that it is important to abandon the Cold War mentality and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiations.
The Chinese Communist-led government has asked all nations involved in the Ukraine situation to remain rational and avoid taking measures that would exacerbate tensions, in apparent consideration of its relations with Russia.
Earlier Friday, China repeated its opposition to sanctions on Russia over its attack against Ukraine, urging the United States, its allies and the European Union to attempt to resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation.
"The United States has imposed more than 100 sanctions on Russia," but they have "never been a fundamental and effective way to solve any problem," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing.
Such sanctions have only caused "serious difficulties" for the relevant countries, Wang said. "China will continue to carry out normal trade cooperation with Russia and Ukraine in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit."
China has refrained from describing Russia's attack against Ukraine as an "invasion."
On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced sanctions targeting Russia's two largest financial institutions and elite individuals among others, along with export controls to limit Moscow's ability to obtain cutting-edge technology.
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The European Union also agreed to slap additional sanctions on Russia covering the financial, energy and transport sectors, and impose export controls. Japan and South Korea, U.S. security allies in East Asia, as well as Taiwan have pledged to follow suit.
China and the Soviet Union, Russia's predecessor state, were competitors during the Cold War. They were at loggerheads over interpretations and practical applications of Marxism-Leninism, the ideology of 20th-century communism.
But Beijing and Moscow have been reinforcing ties in recent years, as their relations with Washington have deteriorated. China and Russia have criticized the post-Cold War international order dominated by the United States.
Firefighters try to extinguish a blaze at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on Feb. 25, 2022. (For editorial use only)(Photo by Ukraine Emergency Ministry/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
