'Dear friends' Xi and Putin meet in Moscow as Ukraine war rages March 20, 2023 at 04:42AM

Chinese President Xi Jinping met his "dear friend" Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, seeking both to deepen economic ties with an ally he sees as a useful counterweight to the West and to promote Beijing's role as a potential peacemaker in Ukraine. Xi was the first leader to meet the Russian president since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him.