As Russia threatens to "respond militarily" in Ukraine standoff, Putin has a friendly video call with China's Xi
CBSN
Moscow — After a week of tough phone calls with European leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin turned to a friendlier ear on Wednesday to hold a video meeting with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping.
With tension high and still mounting between the West and both of their countries, Putin and Xi praised strengthening Russia-China ties, with the Russian leader calling them "a true example of interstate cooperation in the 21st century."
"A new model of cooperation has been formed between our countries, based, among other things, on the principles of non-interference in internal affairs and respect for each other's interests, and the determination to turn the common border into a belt of eternal peace and good-neighborliness," Putin declared in televised remarks after the virtual meeting.
Russia launched a barrage of missiles at Ukraine Thursday in its first major retaliation for Ukraine's attack earlier in the week on a military facility in the Russian region of Bryansk. That strike saw the Ukrainians use American-made and supplied long-range missiles known as ATACMS, which President Biden had given the Ukrainian forces permission to fire deeper into Russian territory only two days earlier.