The presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and China, Xi Jinping, have tried to steal a few seconds of limelight from the new American president, Donald Trump, a day after his inauguration. The two leaders, political adversaries of Washington, held a videoconference meeting this Tuesday in which they once again showed their good harmony. “We build our relationships on friendship, mutual trust, equality and mutual benefit. This is sufficient in itself and does not depend on internal political factors or the current world situation,” Putin said in the extract of their meeting published by the Kremlin.
The leaders of Russia and China greeted each other in the conversation with a “dear friend!” Putin stated that this Monday’s meeting “continues the good tradition at the beginning of the year of summarizing the work of the previous year and making plans for the development of the comprehensive Russian-Chinese partnership and strategic interaction.” However, according to the Kremlin website, the two leaders did not speak in 2024 before February 8 and it was just a telephone conversation without an image of the two leaders during the talk, which was through a screen.
Putin highlighted in his conversation this Monday that China is Russia’s main trading partner. According to its estimates, its turnover reached $220 billion in 2024, 7% more than the previous year despite Western sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine. Chinese banks, however, have abided by the latest American restrictions on payments with Russia, including the ban on Gazprombank, which caused the ruble to devalue further at the end of the year.
The videoconference took place when Trump is on the front pages around the world after taking office as president of the United States and signing the first measures of his mandate. This past Monday, at the same time that the Republican leader was inaugurated in Washington, Putin held another video conference with his Security Council in which he stressed that the new North American president is receptive to resuming negotiations with Moscow on the future of Ukraine.
“We applaud this attitude and congratulate the president-elect of the United States on his inauguration,” Putin said before his Security Council, now chaired by former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and in which several members, such as former president Dmitri Medvedev, advocate publicly for the disappearance of Ukraine.
Trump wants to force Ukraine and Russia to negotiate. The US president has threatened kyiv with cutting off US military aid, and the Kremlin with a new round of sanctions. “[El presidente ucranio Volodímir] Zelensky told me that he wants to reach an agreement, I don’t know if Putin thinks the same. Maybe not, and I think I should reach an agreement. “I think he is destroying Russia by not making an agreement,” Trump told reporters this Monday. “I think Russia is in big trouble. Look at its economy, look at Russia’s inflation,” said the Republican after taking office.
Trump alluded to the losses on both sides to promote an agreement, although the president exposed himself by mentioning data that was totally different from what he said just a month and a half ago. “We have figures. Nearly a million Russian soldiers have died. And some 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died. Russia’s are bigger, they have more soldiers to lose, but that is no way to run a country,” Trump said. In December, the magnate stated, however, that Russia had 600,000 casualties between wounded and dead, and Ukraine, another 400,000.
Skepticism reigns in Russia about Trump’s ability to stop the war. Putin insists that his goals go beyond already occupied territory and include leaving Ukraine defenseless through its demilitarization and keeping kyiv in his orbit. According to a survey by the state polling center VTSIOM, 51% of Russians do not believe that Trump will achieve a truce within the half-year deadline, and only 31% trust in a “soon” agreement.
