JEDDAH: China vowed a stronger partnership with Russia on Wednesday and US President Joe Biden rallied NATO allies in eastern Europe amid soaring global tensions before the anniversary of Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.
\nPresident Vladimir Putin told a huge state-organized patriotic rally in Moscow that Russia was fighting for its \u201chistorical\u201d lands in Ukraine, and its soldiers were \u201cfighting heroically, courageously, bravely \u2014 we are proud of them.\u201d
\nIn Ukraine, school classes moved online for the rest of the week for fear of an upsurge in Russian missile attacks a year on from the Feb. 24 invasion.
\nChinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the highest ranking Chinese official to visit Russia since the invasion, told Putin that Beijing was ready to enhance ties. A time of crisis called for Russia and China \u201cto continuously deepen our comprehensive strategic partnership,\u201d he said.
\nPutin said he was looking forward to a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping and a deeper partnership. Xi is expected to make a \u201cpeace speech\u201d on Friday, but Kyiv says there can be no talk of peace while Russian troops are in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis unprovoked and criminal Russian war against Ukraine, Europe and the democratic world must end with the cleansing of the entire Ukrainian land from Russian occupation and solid guarantees of the long-term security for our state, the whole of Europe and the entire world,\u201d President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
\nRussia is due to begin military exercises with China in South Africa on Friday and has sent a frigate equipped with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles.<\/p>\n
Russian aggression in Ukraine had changed the security situation in Europe, Polish President Andrzej Duda told a meeting in Warsaw of nine eastern NATO members. Biden said Washington was committed to defending every inch of the alliance\u2019s territory.
\n\u201cYou are the front line of our collective defense,\u201d the president told the summit of countries that joined the Western military alliance after being aligned with Moscow during the Cold War.
\nMost are now among the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine and in a joint declaration called for an NATO presence on its eastern flank.
\nBiden said the invasion had tested the world but Washington and its allies had shown they would defend democracy. He rejected Russia\u2019s assertion that the West was seeking to control or destroy Russia, and accused Moscow of crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JEDDAH: China vowed a stronger partnership with Russia on Wednesday and US President Joe Biden rallied NATO allies in eastern Europe amid soaring global tensions before the anniversary of Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin told a huge state-organized patriotic rally in Moscow that Russia was fighting for its \u201chistorical\u201d lands in Ukraine, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-315531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n