Over phone call, Xi discusses Ukraine conflict with Putin

Beijing [China], June 15 (ANI): Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday afternoon held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and exchanged views on the Ukraine issue.
Xi emphasized that China has always independently assessed the situation on the basis of the historical context and the merits of the issue, Xinhua news agency reported.
All parties should push for a proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis in a responsible manner, Xi said, adding that China for this purpose will continue to play its due role.
During their conversation, Xi noted the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has made steady progress and added that the Heihe-Blagoveshchensk cross-border highway bridge has opened to traffic, creating a new channel connecting the two countries.
The Chinese side stands ready to work with the Russian side to push for steady and long-term development of practical bilateral cooperation, Xi said.
According to a Kremlin statement, Putin and Jinping stated that Russian-Chinese relations are at an unprecedented high level and are constantly improving.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation with President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping, during which a thorough exchange of views was held on a wide range of issues on the bilateral and international agenda. The leaders stated that Russian-Chinese relations are at an unprecedented high level and are constantly improving. They reaffirmed desire to consistently deepen comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation in all areas," the statement says.
According to the Sputnik news agency, Putin, in a conversation with Xi Jinping, outlined his fundamental assessments of the situation in Ukraine and the tasks being solved during the "special military operation."
"Vladimir Putin outlined his fundamental assessments of the situation in Ukraine and the tasks being solved in the course of a special military operation. The Chinese President noted the legitimacy of Russia's actions to protect fundamental national interests in the face of challenges to its security created by external forces," the statement says.
Putin and Xi stressed that Russia and China had common or very close positions on many international issues and reaffirmed their readiness to tighten coordination and mutual support at the UN platform. (ANI)