The Chinese regime has supported Russia to maintain its national stability, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Sunday, a day after a short-lived mutiny in Moscow.
In a statement released late Sunday, a spokesperson of Beijing’s foreign ministry described the armed uprising led by the boss of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin over the weekend as “Russia’s internal affairs.” The spokesperson stated that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) supports Russia in “maintaining its national stability and achieving development and prosperity.”
The brief comment came after a meeting between China’s foreign minister Qin Gang and Russia’s deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko in Beijing on Sunday.
According to a readout of the talks from Beijing’s foreign ministry, the two top diplomats “exchanged views on China-Russia relations as well as international and regional issues of common concern,” without elaborating.
The Russian foreign ministry said in its readout that Sunday’s discussion touched on the conflict between the Russian military and the Wagner mercenary group.
“The Chinese side expressed support for the efforts of the leadership of the Russian Federation to stabilize the situation in the country in connection with the events of June 24 and confirmed its interest in strengthening the cohesion and further prosperity of Russia,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Russian-language statement translated by Reuters.
Prior to the talks with Qin, Rudenko had a meeting with China’s vice foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu earlier on Sunday, during which the two sides vowed to strengthen “solidarity and cooperation,” according to a readout from Beijing. The two senior diplomats pledged to “safeguard the common interests” under the “complex and severe” international situation, it read.
It was unclear when Rudenko arrived in Beijing whether his visit to China was in response to what appeared to be a rebellion led by Prigozhin.
Members of the Wagner Group mercenary army were ordered back to their bases on Sunday after Prigozhin struck a deal with the Kremlin.
Prigozhin, who has been a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin for some 20 years, had earlier described the move as a “march for justice” to topple Moscow’s military leadership, which he blamed for unnecessary losses of Russian troops.
Lukashenko’s office said on Saturday that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had Putin’s blessing to broker a deal that ended up halting the lightning-fast advance of Wagner forces toward Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Saturday that under the deal, Prigozhin would move to Belarus and criminal charges against him in Russia would be dropped.
Wagner fighters who took part in the armed rebellion would not face any retribution in recognition for their previous service to Russia.
The rebellion has been closely followed by China’s state media, though they have largely refrained from commenting ahead of official remarks.
The Chinese regime earlier made no comment on Moscow’s crisis, while Western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, said they were closely monitoring the situation.
The Chinese regime has strengthened its ties with Russia since it declared a “no limits” partnership ahead of the Ukraine war. In March, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the two sides signed a series of agreements furthering the two countries’ “strategic cooperation.” Beijing’s goal in that meeting, according to geopolitical analysts, was to advance creating a new “international totalitarian order” led by the communist regime in China.
Tom Ozimek and Reuters contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times