Chinese President Xi Jinping has reportedly sent a letter to Vladimir Putin asking him to outline his proposals for ending the war. The deputy head of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, met with the Chinese president on Wednesday.
Medvedev, a former Russian president, said in a video statement that he and Xi discussed a range of topics, including “the conflict in Ukraine.” Medvedev did not elaborate further.
It is now claimed that he traveled to China to retrieve the letter.
China has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has criticized sanctions against Moscow.
Beijing, in deference to Moscow, has referred to the invasion only as the “Ukrainian situation”, accusing the US and NATO of provoking Putin by expanding into Eastern Europe.
Russia, in turn, has strongly supported China amid tensions with the US over Taiwan.
Russian and Chinese warships practiced joint action in the East China Sea on Thursday, continuing a series of exercises that reflect growing defense cooperation between the two countries.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Varyag missile cruiser, the Marshal Shaposhnikov destroyer and two corvettes from the Russian Pacific Fleet took part in the exercises that began on Wednesday. China has deployed two destroyers, a diesel submarine and several other vessels for the exercise.
READ MORE: ‘Santa Putin’ enters liberal Western home in Russian propaganda video
In November, Russian Air Force Tu-95 bombers and Chinese H-6K bombers conducted joint patrols over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. As part of the exercises, the Russian bombers landed in China for the first time and the Chinese bombers flew to an air base in Russia.
In September, China sent more than 2,000 troops along with more than 300 military vehicles, 21 fighter jets and three warships to participate in a large-scale joint exercise with Russia.