The two leaders have developed strong personal ties that helped boost relations between Moscow and Beijing, growing even closer after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.

Putin proposes deeper ties with Beijing in call with ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping of China - Putin and Xi discussed deepening their strategic partnership as the war in Ukraine grinds on

President Trump said Tuesday it was likely he would impose additional sanctions on Russia if it did not come to the negotiating table to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. “Sounds likely,” Trump said of potential sanctions on Moscow.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call hours after President Donald Trump re-entered the White House and pledged to "deepen" their partnership.

During his first term in office, U.S. President Donald Trump applied his particular brand of diplomacy with Washington's adversaries, publicly befriending Russia and North Korea while separately piling pressure on China and Iran.

China's largest airline, China Southern Airlines, has suspended flights from Beijing to Moscow at the end of January, a surprise move that comes just ahead of the Chinese New Year. Newsweek reached out to China Southern Airlines and the Russian Foreign Ministry with an emailed request for comment outside of office hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed on Tuesday how to build ties with Donald Trump, prospects for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine and Moscow’s firm support for Beijing’s position on Taiwan.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has called on Moscow and Beijing to deepen their strategic ties, as he spoke with “dear friend” Chinese president Xi Jinping on a video call.

China's envoy to the United Nations has inadvertently disparaged Russia's military, countering U.S. criticism by claiming Moscow's forces would be better positioned in Ukraine if they were being supported by China's armed forces.

The Russian and Chinese leaders spoke to each other via video call on Tuesday, just a day after Donald Trump's inauguration.

"He's not done very much on that," Trump told reporters at the White House on Jan. 21. "He's got a lot of ... power, like we have a lot of power. I said, 'You ought to get it settled.' We did discuss it.