ISTANBUL

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday signed off on a joint statement on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between their countries.

The statement was adopted by the two presidents following narrow and expanded talks held in Moscow, where Xi arrived a day earlier on a four-day visit to take part in an annual military parade in Moscow's Red Square on May 9, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day.

Victory Day is celebrated on May 9 in Russia and other countries, including some former Soviet states, to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory against Nazi Germany during World War II—a conflict Russia calls the Great Patriotic War.

During a news conference at the Kremlin following a signing ceremony, at which both countries adopted more than 20 documents to further deepen ties, Putin described negotiations with Xi as “very meaningful and productive.”

Noting that bilateral ties between Moscow and Beijing have reached their highest level in history, Putin said these relations are “self-sufficient” and “do not depend on domestic political factors or the current world situation.”

Putin further said that almost all of the trade conducted between Russia and China is carried out based on their respective national currencies, and that they have built a “stable system” of mutual trade that is “reliably protected from the influence of third countries and negative trends in world markets.”

The Russian president also said that his country and China have suffered the greatest losses during World War II, adding that both Moscow and Beijing are jointly advocating to preserve the “historical truth” about their victory in World War II as “a common value for humanity.”

For his part, Xi called for strengthening political mutual trust, as well as the intensification of strategic cooperation, between their countries, underlining the importance of remaining as reliable partners “in the spirit of mutual benefit and joint prosperity.”

He went on to argue that China and Russia should stand by each other as “stabilizing, positive and progressive” factors in the international community, adding that they will “weather any storm and overcome any obstacles hand in hand.”

Joint statement

The statement was later published by the Kremlin, in which Russia and China were defined as sharing a common mission to preserve the "accurate historical memory" of World War II.

Moscow confirmed its commitment to the one-China policy, while both countries accused some nuclear countries of expansion and taking steps to threaten international peace and security.

It said Russia and China noted the "extremely negative" effect of attempts by the US and its allies to expand NATO's presence in the Asia-Pacific region, condemning the creation of military blocs in the region with a nuclear component.

"The parties support the comprehensive promotion of a comprehensive settlement of the problems of the Korean Peninsula exclusively by political and diplomatic means," is said, urging the abandonment of "unilateral coercive measures and forceful pressure" against North Korea.

Moscow and Beijing expressed an intention to increase their interaction on the issue of Afghanistan, and urged the stabilization of the situation in the Middle East and advocated for its settlement through political and diplomatic means.

The statement also said the two countries are committed to a comprehensive settlement in Syria based on a broad national dialogue, and are convinced that Damascus must "resolutely oppose any forms of terrorist and extremist forces."

"The parties intend to play an active and constructive role in the settlement of the Iranian nuclear program," it said, noting they are also convinced of the necessity to eliminate the root causes of the Ukraine war for a "long-term and sustainable" settlement.

"The Russian side positively evaluates the objective and unbiased position of the Chinese side on the Ukrainian crisis and welcomes China's desire to play a constructive role in its settlement by political and diplomatic means," it added.