Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping pick up the phone to talk close ties after Trump’s return

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting to emphasise their close ties a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president.

The two leaders discussed their prospective contacts with Trump’s administration during the video call that lasted more than 1½ hours, the Kremlin said.

They have developed strong, personal links that brought their relations even closer after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. China has become a major customer for Russian oil and gas and a source of key technologies amid sweeping Western sanctions on Moscow.

In the call with Xi, Putin emphasised that Russia-China relations were based on shared interests, equality and mutual benefits, noting they “don’t depend on internal political factors and the current international environment”.

“We jointly support the development of a more just, multipolar global order, and work to ensure indivisible security in Eurasia and the world as a whole,” Putin told Xi in remarks carried by Russian state TV. “Joint efforts by Russia and China play an important stabilising role in global affairs.”

Xi similarly praised their close cooperation, expressing his readiness to work together with Putin to “lead China-Russia relations to a higher level, to cope with the uncertainty of the external environment with the stability and resilience of China-Russia relations,” and to “safeguard international fairness and justice”.

He emphasised that Russia and China should “continue to deepen strategic cooperation, firmly support each other, and safeguard the legitimate interests of the two countries.”

While neither leader directly mentioned Trump in the televised fragment of their call, the Kremlin said they touched upon prospective contacts with the new US administration.