US reacts to Putin-Xi Jinping meet in China: 'Exchanging hugs? That's nice for them'
After being re-elected as Russia's President, Putin embarked on his first foreign visit and landed in China on Thursday.
The United States has reacted to the recent meeting between Russia's President Vladimir Putin and China's Premier Xi Jinping. During their meeting, Putin and Jinping exchanged hugs in a display of increasing friendship between the two countries.
"Exchanging hugs? Well, that's nice for them," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a briefing when asked about the significance of photos showing the two US adversaries locked in an embrace.
"I'm not good at talking about personal human bodily affection one way or the other. I think I'll leave it to these two gents to talk about why they thought it was good to hug one another," said Kirby.
The National Security Council spokesman Kirby further said that the United States wasn't surprised by the outcomes of the meeting between Putin and Jinping.
"We didn't see anything coming out of this meeting that we were necessarily surprised by," said Kirby.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say we weren't concerned about this relationship and where it's going. "We're watching," he added.
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After being re-elected as Russia's President, Putin embarked on his first foreign visit and landed in China on Thursday. Putin's visit came amid US accusations that Chinese companies have been aiding Russia with technology amid the war in Ukraine.
Amid the ongoing war against Ukraine, China has indirectly stood in support of Russia. The economic ties between Russia and China have also been growing. During his China visit, Putin had hailed the support of the country.
"I will inform the President of the People's Republic of China about the situation surrounding the Ukraine crisis. We are grateful to our Chinese friends and colleagues for the initiatives they are putting forward to resolve this problem," Putin had said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan has publicly claimed that China and Russia support each other's expansionism. Taiwan has been facing increased Chinese surveillance and interference in its territory.
