Russian President Vladimir Putin, at left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping greet one another during a signing event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Maxim Shemetov/Pool via Reuters
LONDON — On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping received Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, with the two leaders issuing a collective statement calling for a halt to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran with "extreme urgency."
"Both sides concur that military actions against Iran by the United States and Israel violate global law and core principles of global relations, critically jeopardizing stability in the Middle East," stated the mutual declaration posted on the Kremlin webpage.
The declaration emphasized "the necessity for the swift resumption of discourse and negotiations by the involved parties to avert the spread of the combat zone and implored the global society to adopt an equitable and unbiased stance, to aid in de-escalation, and to jointly safeguard the foundational rules of international engagement."
Russian President Vladimir Putin, at left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping greet one another during a signing event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, May 20, 2026.Maxim Shemetov/Pool via Reuters
The two presidents also denounced what they described as "deceitful military assaults on foreign nations, the disingenuous employment of talks as a disguise for orchestrating such attacks, the assassination of heads of independent nations, the unsettling of the internal political climate in these nations and the incitement of governmental transitions, and the audacious abduction of national figures for legal proceedings."
Both Moscow and Beijing have functioned as vital allies for Tehran in recent years, as the U.S. and its European partners have endeavored to weaken the Islamic Republic by means of international penalties and diplomatic separation.
Since 2022, Russia's comprehensive incursion into Ukraine has spurred the advancement of enhanced military and economic connections linking Moscow and Tehran, with Iranian weaponry — notably Iranian-engineered Shahed strike drones — assuming a pivotal role in Russia's ongoing operations.
Concurrently, China persists as a key purchaser of Iranian petroleum, with certain experts estimating that Beijing accounts for as much as 90% of Tehran's unrefined exports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping review an honor guard during a welcoming event at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China, May 20, 2026.Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik via AP
China has been advocating for a negotiated settlement to the dispute in Iran, which commenced with collaborative U.S.-Israeli offensives across the entire nation on Feb. 28. Beijing asserts that it has been coordinating intimately with Pakistan, which has surfaced as a crucial intermediary in as-yet fruitless peace discussions involving Washington and Tehran.
Subsequent to the assembly between Xi and Putin, both factions voiced backing for the other's "territorial sovereignty."
Putin affirmed — according to the Kremlin record — that Russia "reiterates its dedication to the One China tenet and recognizes the presence of solely one China. Taiwan forms its intrinsic component, and the government of the People's Republic of China stands as the exclusive authorized government representing all of China."
The record conveyed that China "bolsters Russia's endeavors toward the provision of security, stability, national advancement, prosperity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity and 'objects to external meddling in Russian domestic affairs.'"
Participants wave flags during an occasion to greet Russian President Vladimir Putin at an airport in Beijing, China, May 19, 2026.Vladimir Smirnov/Sputnik via Reuters
ABC News' Joe Simonetti assisted in the creation of this report.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com