Putin hails China’s willingness to help settle Ukraine conflict

This handout video grab shows Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting a flat at a newly built neighborhood during his visit to Mariupol in Russian-controlled Donetsk region. (AFP)

• Xi Jinping heads to Russia on Monday hoping to deliver a breakthrough on Ukraine as Beijing seeks to position itself as a peacemaker

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Sunday welcomed China’s willingness to play a “constructive role” in ending the conflict in Ukraine, saying Sino-Russian relations were “at the highest point” in history.
His Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping heads to Russia on Monday hoping to deliver a breakthrough on Ukraine as Beijing seeks to position itself as a peacemaker.
The quality of ties between Moscow and Beijing is “higher than the political and military unions of the Cold War era,” Putin said in an article written for a Chinese newspaper and published by the Kremlin on the eve of Xi’s visit.