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Silke Bigalke and Florian J. Müller, Moscow, Berlin
Vladimir Putin doesn’t have many allies left in the world. Chinese ruler Xi Jinping is one of the last to remain loyal to him since – or despite – the war in Ukraine. And so this Thursday, Putin is full of praise for the “friendship” between the two countries as he sees Xi for the first time since they met at the Beijing Winter Olympics. “A lot has happened since then,” Putin said, according to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, in a barely concealed allusion to his campaign against Ukraine. “We appreciate the balanced stance of our Chinese friends on the Ukraine crisis,” he said. However, he also understands Xi’s “related questions and concerns”.