The Russia-Ukraine conflict is now its 391st day.
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are set to hold a second day of talks, as the Russian leader said he was open to discussing China’s proposals on the fighting in Ukraine.
The sit-down was to be unexpectedly mirrored in Kiev, where Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was en route to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Xi’s trip to Moscow has been viewed as a major boost for his strategic partner Putin, who is subject to an International Criminal Court warrant over accusations of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
On Monday, Xi and Putin held four and a half hours of talks.
During the meeting, the Russian leader said he was open to talks on Ukraine and praised Beijing’s 12-point position paper on the conflict, which includes a call for dialogue and respect for all countries’ territorial sovereignty.
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1058 GMT – Italy to keep supporting Ukraine, no matter govt approval rating – Meloni
Italy will continue to support Ukraine in resisting Russian attacks regardless of the short-term impact this choice may have on the Italian government’s approval rating, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.
“We will continue to do it because it is right to do so in terms of national values and interest,” she said in a speech before the Senate ahead of the European Council meeting on March 23-24.
“There is no room for a just peace in Ukraine yet, but we will keep pursuing it,” she added.
0908 GMT – Xi tells Russian PM China to ‘prioritise’ ties with Moscow
Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin described Beijing and Moscow as “great neighbouring powers” and “strategic partners,” saying China would “prioritise” ties with Russia.
Xi said Chinese Premier Li Qiang would “continue to prioritise the all-round strategic partnership between China and Russia,” adding that: “we are great neighbouring powers and comprehensive strategic partners”.
0803 GMT – Russia says US obsessed with idea of inflicting ‘strategic defeat’ on Moscow
Russia’s ambassador to Washington said the US is obsessed with the idea of inflicting a “strategic defeat” in Moscow.
“With its steps, the administration is only pushing the Ukrainian radicals towards new terrible deeds. With each delivery of military equipment, the Zelenskyy regime feels more and more impunity,” Anatoly Antonov said in respon se to a question on Washington’s decision to authorise another $350 million in military aid to Ukraine.
Antonov said that the US does not understand that such actions are further escalating the Russia-Ukraine war, and that Washington’s policy “jeopardizes the security of all of Europe, increasing the risk of a direct clash between Russia and NATO”.
Japan’s PM Kishida, as a member of the G7 nations, will voice solidarity and support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion more than a year ago, foreign ministry says pic.twitter.com/9jYEzZlOz7
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 21, 2023
0315 GMT – Japan PM Kishida on way to Ukraine: local media
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is en route to Ukraine for a surprise visit after pressure to travel there as this year’s host of the Group of Seven summit.
Kishida will hold talks with Zelenskyy, the Japanese foreign ministry said.
0044 GMT – Russia to hold UN meeting on Ukraine kids taken to Russia
Russia plans to hold an informal meeting of the UN Security Council in early April on what it said is “the real situation” of Ukrainian children taken to Russia, an issue that has gained the spotlight following the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes related to their abduction.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told a news conference Monday that Russia planned the council meeting long before Friday’s announcement by the ICC.
Russia holds the rotating presidency of the council in April.
2352 GMT – Russia rejects links between Ukraine war, US-led invasion of Iraq
Russia’s UN ambassador has rejected links between the war in Ukraine and the US-led invasion of Iraq.
“The genesis of these crises is absolutely different,” Vassily Nebenzia told reporters on the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war.
”While Iraq was a hoax, the Ukrainian threat and later the proxy war of the West with Russia is a reality,” he said. Nebenzia said the invasion of Iraq was a violation of the UN Charter and international law, but the war in Ukraine is ”not exactly the same.”
However, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly said that Russian aggression in Ukraine is a violation of the UN Charter and international law.
2138 GMT – Millions in extra funding pledged for ICC work in Ukraine
An international conference in London raised $4.9 million to support the International Criminal Court in its investigations into alleged war crimes in Ukraine and its work to hold Russia to account, officials have said.
Justice ministers from over 40 countries met in London for the war crimes conference days after the global court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of personal responsibility in the abduction of children from Ukraine.
“We share the belief that President Putin and the wider leadership must be held to account,” Britain’s Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said as he opened the meeting. “Let’s make sure that we back up our words with deeds, that we back up our moral support with practical means to effectively investigate these awful crimes.”
2032 GMT – US thankful to Türkiye, UN for Black Sea grain deal extension
The US has expressed gratitude to Türkiye and the UN for a recently-brokered 60-day extension of a key accord to facilitate grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that over the weekend two ships left Ukrainian ports bound for predominantly low and middle-income nations with hundreds of thousands of metric tons of corn.
Those nations “have been suffering no question and suffering since the beginning of this war with food insecurity,” said Kirby.
“We’re grateful for the work of Türkiye for the UN to move forward with that,” he told reporters at the White House. “We’re focused on now that this is extended, making sure we get those ships loaded, and get them out, and get them to places where they need to be.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the Ankara-brokered deal’s extension on Saturday, one day before it was slated to lapse.
2117 GMT – Russian cruise missiles blown up in transit in Crimea: Ukraine
Ukraine’s defence ministry said on Monday that an explosion in Dzhankoi in Russian-annexed Crimea had destroyed Russian Kalibr cruise missiles during rail transit.
Separately, Sergei Askyonov, the Moscow-supported head of the annexed peninsula said air defence systems had gone into action in the area and that at least one person had been injured after wreckage damaged a house and a shop in Dzhankoi.
Intelligence: Explosion in Crimea destroys Russian Kalibr missiles.
An explosion in the Crimean city of Dzhankoi destroyed Russian Kalibr cruise missiles during their railway transportation on March 20, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence. https://t.co/puAlrPeIIG
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 20, 2023
1859 GMT – Putin, Xi to hold more talks
Talks between Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi will resume in a full-fledged format, Russian news agencies reported.
“On Tuesday, the leaders will meet again and hold full-fledged talks,” TASS news agency said, adding their informal discussions on Monday lasted almost 4-1/2 hours.
Putin told Xi in a televised meeting earlier that he had looked at China’s proposals on how to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, adding that the two would have an opportunity to discuss Beijing’s ideas.
For our live updates from Monday (March 20), click here.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Live blog: Japan PM lands in Kiev under shadow of growing Putin, Xi ties
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