MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. Chinese leader Xi Jinping said during the phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he treats Moscow’s actions in the Ukrainian crisis with respect, Kremlin press office announced Friday.
"The President of Russia informed the President of the People’s Republic of China about the reasons behind the decision to recognize Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s republic and to carry out the special military operation, aimed to save the civilian population from a genocide, and to ensure the demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian state," the statement reads.
The Kremlin also noted that, considering the latest signals from Kiev, Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for negotiations with Ukrainian representatives.
"Xi Jinping underscored that he treats the actions of the Russian leadership in the current crisis situation with respect," the statement says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.