China-Russia joint statement on Iran

China and Russia used Vladimir Putin’s May 19-20 visit to Beijing to put a joint position on the Iran war into a broader statement about their shared foreign-policy agenda. After talks at the Great Hall of the People on May 20, Xi Jinping and Putin signed joint documents and issued language condemning U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran as violations of international law, according to accounts of the statement carried by ABC News and TRT World and to China’s foreign ministry account of the summit. The statement did more than address Iran. It also reiterated support for Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and raised concern about what it called militarization of the Arctic by the United States and its allies, according to reporting that summarized the text. ### What did Xi and Putin actually say about Iran? (abcnews.com) The May 20 statement said U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran “breach international law and fundamental norms of international relations” and “seriously undermine stability in the Middle East,” ABC News reported, citing the joint text published on the Kremlin website. The two sides also called ending the war a matter of “utmost urgency.” (theistanbulpost.com) The same statement urged “a return as soon as possible” to dialogue and negotiations to keep the conflict from spreading, ABC reported. TRT World’s live coverage also summarized the China-Russia position as calling the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran “illegal.” ### Why was this statement issued in Beijing on May 20? (abcnews.com) Xi Jinping hosted Putin in Beijing on May 20 during what Chinese state media and the Chinese foreign ministry described as Putin’s 25th visit to China. The two leaders said they signed a joint statement on further strengthening comprehensive strategic coordination and would also issue a separate statement on advocating a multipolar world and a new type of international relations. (abcnews.com) The timing mattered because the summit came amid the Iran war and days after a separate round of high-level diplomacy in Beijing. Chinese state media said Xi and Putin agreed to extend the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation again, while praising what they called a “new stage” in bilateral ties. (mfa.gov.cn) ### Where do Syria and the Arctic fit into this? The joint text linked the Iran war to a wider set of security positions. Reporting on the statement said Beijing and Moscow voiced support for Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and said Syria’s transitional government should resist terrorism and extremism. (english.gov.cn) The same reporting said China and Russia expressed concern over “the militarization of the high latitudes” by the United States and its allies and said they wanted the Arctic preserved as a zone of peace, stability and low military-political tension. ### Is this a new China-Russia line, or a continuation? (theistanbulpost.com) China and Russia have both criticized military action against Iran before this week. ABC reported that Beijing has pushed for a diplomatic resolution since the conflict began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes across Iran on Feb. 28, while outside tracking by the Washington Institute says both governments have issued repeated statements defending Tehran since the start of the war. (theistanbulpost.com) What changed on May 20 was that Xi and Putin folded those positions into leader-level summit documents signed in Beijing. China’s foreign ministry said the two presidents used the visit to discuss “a series of major issues,” sign a bilateral joint statement and present their relationship as a high-level strategic partnership. ### What comes next after the summit? (abcnews.com) China’s foreign ministry said on May 20 that the two countries would issue the joint statement on advocating a multipolar world and a new type of international relations alongside the bilateral statement signed after the talks. Chinese state media also said the leaders witnessed the signing of a range of cooperation documents in Beijing. (mfa.gov.cn) The next concrete marker is the publication and circulation of those summit documents by Chinese and Russian state channels and their use in subsequent diplomacy on Iran, Syria and Arctic security. (mfa.gov.cn)