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China’s Xi warns Putin not to use nuclear arms in Ukraine

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Chinese leader Xi Jinping made his most direct criticism yet of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine on Friday, warning the Russian president not to resort to nuclear weapons and calling on visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to push for peace talks, according to Politico.

Xi’s warning comes just over a month after Putin threatened Ukraine with a nuclear attack, a sign of how far Ukrainian forces had rocked the Kremlin with their advances against invaders in the East.

The international community, said Xi, should “jointly oppose the use of, or threats to use, nuclear weapons,” according to a statement carried by Xinhua, China’s state news agency. The world should also “advocate that nuclear weapons cannot be used, a nuclear war cannot be waged, in order to prevent a nuclear crisis” in Europe or Asia, Xi added. 

The Chinese leader, who just weeks ago secured a norm-breaking third term in office, asked Germany and Europe to play an important part in calling for peace and facilitating negotiations.

Xi also called for “improving the humanitarian situation” in the crisis areas especially during the winter.

Still, the Chinese leader, who before the war referred to Putin as his best friend, notably stopped short of asking Russia to withdraw, a key demand for Ukraine and its Western backers. He also made no mention of Putin’s refusal to honor the U.N. agreement on facilitating Ukrainian grain exports, with his premier instead advocating the export of Chinese grain to help ease the food crisis.

In September Putin publicly acknowledged for the first time that Xi had “questions” and “concerns” about the war. Shortly after that meeting between the Chinese and Russian leaders, Putin upped the ante and raised the notion that nuclear weapons could be used. “To defend Russia and our people, we doubtlessly will use all weapons resources at our disposal,” Putin said. “This is not a bluff.”

“We cannot afford any further escalation,” China’s outgoing Premier Li Keqiang said at a press conference. Referring to Scholz who was standing next to him, Li said: “Both of us … hope the crisis ends soon.”