Russia’s President Vladimir Putin landed in Beijing on Thursday for a two-day state visit to China in a show of unity between the authoritarian allies.
Putin’s visit comes as Russia has become more economically dependent on China following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing in October 2023.Credit: AP
On the eve of the visit, Putin said in an interview with Chinese media that the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine.
“We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours,” Putin was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.
The Russian leader’s two-day trip comes as his country’s forces have pressed an offensive in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region that began last week in the most significant border incursion since the full-scale invasion began, forcing almost 8,000 people to flee their homes.
Along with Moscow’s efforts to build on its gains in the nearby Donetsk region, the 2-year-old war has entered a critical stage for Ukraine’s depleted military that is awaiting new supplies of anti-aircraft missiles and artillery shells from the United States.
AP
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in an “extraordinarily serious” condition after he was shot multiple times in a suspected assassination attempt which has rocked the central European nation.
The country’s defence minister, Robert Kalinak, said on Wednesday that Fico was still undergoing surgery after more than three-and-a-half hours after suffering “serious trauma” when he was shot five times in the stomach, arm and leg.
The 59-year-old populist, pro-Russian leader was transferred by helicopter to a hospital in the nearby city of Banská Bystrica, rather than the capital Bratislava, because of the need for “acute intervention”.
A man with a gun licence was detained as a suspect, local media reported, with a government spokesman saying preliminary information “clearly” points to a political motivation.
Labor will be forced into talks with the Greens over new curbs on coal and gas in a bid to salvage the $13.7 billion tax credits in its “made in Australia” budget plan, after the Coalition rubbished the new measure as a handout for billionaire miners.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers during question time on Wednesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The clash in parliament threatens to stall the flagship budget policy despite Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ claim that the tax credits could build up new industries by unleashing investment in critical minerals and clean energy.
Read the full story from chief political correspondent David Crowe here.
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