China's foreign minister heads to Moscow in visit overshadowed by Western moves on Ukraine

Wang Yi

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday was travelling to Moscow for talks with his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in a visit overshadowed by Western moves over Ukraine.

Wang is scheduled to meet with Lavrov on Tuesday, days after Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after US President Donald Trump spoke with the two countries' leaders.

It remains to be seen when such a truce might take effect, how long it might last and what targets would be off-limits.

Trump lashed out at both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, expressing frustration with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

Although Trump insisted to reporters that “we're making a lot of progress”, he acknowledged that “there's tremendous hatred” between the two men. He said he was “angry, pissed off” that Putin questioned Zelenskyy's credibility.

Trump's comments, which have typically been positive toward Putin, also came amid signs of a fracture between the US and its NATO allies, including Canada, with whom it is also involved in a trade war.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, in comments consistent with China's position, emphasised Beijing's assertions of neutrality in the Ukraine conflict.

“We always believe that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way out of the crisis. China's cooperation with Russia does not target a third party and should not be affected by any third party,” Guo told reporters at a daily briefing.

China did not mention Ukraine in its announcement of Wang's trip, saying only that the two countries “continue to deepen back-to-back strategic coordination and expand practical cooperation across various fields", as well as "upholding the basic norms governing international relations”.

“The Chinese side is ready to take this visit as an opportunity to work with the Russian side ... on international and regional issues of common concern,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying.

China has provided strong diplomatic support for Russia in the more than three years since it launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour, along with an economic lifeline through the trade in energy and consumer goods.

However, it has not knowingly provided Russia with weapons or military expertise and has put forward a vague peace plan that was swiftly dismissed by most observers.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his unwavering support for Russia's war in Ukraine during a meeting with a top Russian security official in Pyongyang on Friday.

That came after South Korean intelligence assessment in late February that North Korea had likely sent additional troops to Russia after its forces suffered heavy casualties fighting Ukrainian forces.