Leaders discussed their prospective contacts with Donald Trump’s new US administration during a wide-ranging video call, Kremlin says.Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on ways to strengthen bilateral ties a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
The two leaders discussed their prospective contacts with Trump’s administration during a wide-ranging video call that lasted more than one and a half hours, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
Russian media reported that the two leaders spoke about boosting trade flows. China is the largest consumer of Russian energy and the single biggest oil export market for Russia.
Xi and Putin “have indicated a willingness to build relations with the United States on a mutually beneficial, mutually respectful basis, if the Trump team really shows interest in this”, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.
“It was also noted from our side that we are ready for dialogue with the new US administration on the Ukrainian conflict.”
For his part, Trump has said he is willing to accommodate Russia’s view that Ukraine’s right to self-determination could be put aside in favour of peace and stability. Advertisement
Ushakov said Putin wanted long-term peace in Ukraine, not a short-term ceasefire. No specific proposals for a call with Trump have been received, he said.
On Taiwan, Ushakov said Russia had “confirmed its unwavering position of support for the one China principle”.
China regards democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory. In a New Year’s speech, President Xi said that …
