'Dear friends' Putin and Xi unify against the West, express concern over NATO presence in Asia

China and Russia on Tuesday hailed a "new era" in their relationship. Putting on a united front against the West, the allies expressed "great concern" over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) growing presence in Asia and accused the United States of 'undermining' global security. 'Dear friends' Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday, held four and a half hours of talks. The two leaders, as per AFP, agreed to deepen the partnership they share.

Watch |‘Dear friends’ Xi & Putin meet in Moscow

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Putin, as per the report, also accused the West of rejecting Beijing's proposals to end the Ukraine conflict. The Russian leader said that he was open to talks on Ukraine. He also praised China's 12-point position paper on the conflict. He also accused Kyiv of being unwilling to implement China's proposals.

"Many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China... can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when Kyiv and the West will be ready for it," said Putin adding "however, so far we have not seen such readiness on their part."

In a joint statement, Putin and Xi took aim at the West and called on the US "to stop undermining international and regional security and global strategic stability in order to secure its unilateral military advantage."

Expressing concern over NATO's growing presence in Asia, the two leaders in their declaration said: "The parties express great concern over the ongoing strengthening of NATO's ties with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region on military and security issues."

(With inputs from agencies)

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