|
 Alexander Ryumin/Pool via ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping put on the performance of a lifetime in Beijing on Thursday, playing peacemakers in the "Ukraine crisis" over a menu of peking duck and Maotai vodka even as Russian troops launch a new offensive.
In the Russian leader's first overseas trip in his fifth term as president and one of his first trips abroad since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest, Putin gushed about Moscow's "limitless" bond with Beijing and lapped up the fanfare surrounding his arrival, saying: "I just feel right at home."
While he faces arrest if he were to set foot on the soil of many other countries, Putin was treated to a lavish ceremony at the Great Hall of the People that included a 21-gun salute, marching band, and an honor guard. Kremlin-controlled media was quick to seize on the optics of the ceremony for a flurry of reports apparently showing Putin still commands respect on the world stage.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
|
|
