Putin welcomes leader and plan to settle 'crisis'

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin yesterday, in a visit that sent a powerful message to Western leaders allied with Ukraine that their efforts to isolate Moscow have fallen short.

Greeting Mr Xi, Mr Putin said he welcomed his plan for "settlement of the acute crisis in Ukraine" 

Mr Xi's visit showed off Beijing's new diplomatic swagger and gave a political lift to Mr Putin just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for the Kremlin leader on war crimes charges related to Ukraine. The two major powers have described Mr Xi's three-day trip as an opportunity to deepen their "no-limits friendship".

China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energyhungry economy, and as a partner in standing up to what both see as US domination of global affairs.