China's Xi Makes 1st Moscow Visit      03/20 06:06

   Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday on a three-day visit 
that shows off Beijing's new diplomatic swagger and offers a welcome political 
lift for Russian President Vladimir Putin as the fighting in Ukraine slows to a 
grinding war of attrition.

   (AP) -- Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday on a three-day 
visit that shows off Beijing's new diplomatic swagger and offers a welcome 
political lift for Russian President Vladimir Putin as the fighting in Ukraine 
slows to a grinding war of attrition.

   China and Russia have described Xi's trip as part of efforts to further 
deepen their "no-limits friendship." China looks to Russia as a source of oil 
and gas for its energy-hungry economy, and as a partner in opposing what both 
see as U.S. domination of global affairs.

   Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that over dinner on Monday, Putin and 
Xi will touch on issues related to Ukraine, adding that Russia's president will 
likely offer a "detailed explanation" of Moscow's view on the current situation.

   Broader talks involving officials from both countries on a range of subjects 
are scheduled for Tuesday, according to Peskov.

   For Putin, Xi's presence at the Kremlin is a prestige visit and a diplomatic 
triumph, allowing him to tell Western leaders allied with Ukraine that their 
efforts to isolate him have fallen short. Xi's trip comes just days after the 
International Criminal Court in The Hague announced it wants to put Putin on 
trial for the abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine.

   China portrays Xi's visit as part of normal diplomatic exchanges and has 
offered little detail about what the trip aims to accomplish, though the nearly 
13 months of war in Ukraine cast a long shadow on the talks.

   At a daily briefing in Beijing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang 
Wenbin said Xi's trip was a "journey of friendship, cooperation and peace."

   On the war, Wang said: "China will uphold its objective and fair position on 
the Ukrainian crisis and play a constructive role in promoting peace talks."

   Beijing's leap into Ukraine issues follows its recent success in brokering 
talks between Iran and its chief Middle Eastern rival, Saudi Arabia, which 
agreed to restore their diplomatic ties after years of tensions.

   Flushed with that success, Xi called for China to play a bigger role in 
managing global affairs.

   "President Xi will have an in-depth exchange of views with President Putin 
on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of common 
concern," Wang said.

   He added that Xi aims to "promote strategic coordination and practical 
cooperation between the two countries and inject new impetus into the 
development of bilateral relations."

   China last month called for a cease-fire and peace talks between Kyiv and 
Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautiously welcomed Beijing's 
involvement, but the overture fizzled.

   The Kremlin has welcomed China's peace plan and said it would be discussed 
in talks between Putin and Xi that will begin over dinner.

   Washington strongly rejected Beijing's call for a cease-fire as the 
effective ratification of the Kremlin's battlefield gains.

   Kyiv officials say they won't bend in their terms for a peace accord.

   "The first and main point is the capitulation or withdrawal of the Russian 
occupation troops from the territory of Ukraine in accordance with the norms of 
international law and the UN Charter," Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of 
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, tweeted on Monday.

   That means restoring "sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity," 
he wrote.

   Xi's trip to Russia comes after the International Criminal Court on Friday 
issued a warrant for Putin's arrest on war crimes charges.

   The Kremlin doesn't recognize the authority of the the International 
Criminal Court and has rejected its move against Putin as "legally null and 
void." China, the United States and Ukraine don't recognize the ICC, either, 
but the court's announcement tarnished Putin's international standing.

   China's foreign ministry on Monday called on the ICC to "respect the 
jurisdictional immunity" of a head of state and "avoid politicization and 
double standards."

   Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council, said Monday that 
the International Criminal Court's move to issue an arrest warrant for Putin 
will have "monstrous consequences" for international law.

   "A gloomy sunset of the entire system of international relations is coming, 
trust is exhausted," Medvedev wrote on his messaging app channel.

   He argued that in the past the ICC has destroyed its credibility by failing 
to prosecute the purported U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

   He also cautioned that the court in The Hague could be a target for a 
Russian missile strike. Medvedev has in the past made bombastic statements and 
claims.