By KARL RITTER
Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit Tuesday to Kyiv, stealing some of the attention from Asian rival President Xi Jinping of China, who met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to promote Beijing's peace proposal for Ukraine that Western nations have already criticized.
The two visits, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) apart, highlighted the nearly 13-month-old war's repercussions for international diplomacy as countries line up behind Moscow or Kyiv. Kishida, who will chair the Group of Seven summit in May, met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and paid tribute to those killed in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv that became a symbol of Russian atrocities against civilians.
After talks with Xi, Putin said a Chinese peace plan could provide a basis for a settlement of the fighting in Ukraine when the West is ready for it, but he added that Kyiv's Western allies have shown no interest in that.
U.S. officials have said any peace plan coming from the Putin-Xi meeting would be unacceptable because a cease-fire would only ratify Moscow's territorial conquests and give Russia time to plan for a renewed offensive.
"It looks like the West indeed intends to fight Russia until the last Ukrainian," Putin said, adding the latest threat is a British plan to give Ukraine tank rounds containing depleted uranium.
"If that happens, Russia will respond accordingly, given that the collective West is starting to use weapons with a nuclear component," he said, without elaborating.
Putin has occasionally warned that Russia would use all available means, including possibly nuclear weapons, to defend itself, but also has sometimes backed off such threats.
Putin's comment referred to remarks Monday by U.K junior Defense Minister Annabel Goldie, who wrote: "Alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, we will be providing ammunition, including armor-piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium. Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the U.K. plan shows that the British "have lost the bearings," and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said "it marked another step, and there aren't so many of them left."
Beijing insists it is a neutral broker in Ukraine, and Xi said Tuesday after his talks with Putin: "We adhere to a principled and objective position on the Ukrainian crisis based on the goals and principles of the U.N. Charter." He added that the Chinese plan seeks to "actively encourage peace and the resumption of talks."
In a joint statement, Russia and China emphasized the need to "respect legitimate security concerns of all countries" to settle the conflict, echoing Moscow's argument that it sent troops into its neighbor to prevent the U.S. and its NATO allies from turning the country into an anti-Russian bulwark.
After meeting Kishida, Zelenskyy told reporters his team had sent his own peace formula to China but hasn't gotten a response, adding that there were "some signals, but nothing concrete about the possibility of a dialogue."
Kishida called Russia's invasion a "disgrace that undermines the foundations of the international legal order."
Earlier he laid flowers at a church in Bucha for the town's victims.
"Upon this visit to Bucha, I feel a strong resentment against cruelty," he said. "I would like to represent the people in Japan, and express my deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones, were injured as a result of this cruel act."
Whether China will provide military support is a key question. Western officials "have seen some signs" Putin also wants lethal weapons from Beijing, though there is no evidence it has granted his request, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels.
Kishida, the only G-7 leader who hadn't visited Ukraine, and was under domestic pressure to do so. He became Japan's first postwar leader to enter a war zone.
Due to its pacifist principles, Japan's support for Ukraine has been limited to nonlethal equipment and humanitarian supplies. It has contributed more than $7 billion to Ukraine and accepted more than 2,000 displaced Ukrainians, despite its strict immigration policy.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, talk after the signing of joint documents in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)