Dec. 15 (UPI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday presented a united front amid mounting tensions with the United States and its Western allies.
Meeting in a video summit, Putin and Xi greeted each other as friends.
Xi supported Putin’s demands for “security guarantees” in Ukraine. U.S. intelligence has warned that Putin is amassing military force along Ukraine’s border with the capacity to invade with as many as 175,000 troops.
Putin told Xi he would attend the Beijing Olympics in February, as the United States and other nations diplomatically boycott the games.
The two leaders also voiced solidarity against U.S. and Western powers’ military deployments in the Asia-Pacific region.
The United States and other Western powers are maintaining their military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, sending warships through international waters in the Taiwan Strait and near Chinese man-made islands.