Russia and China today called for delineating buffer zones between nuclear powers forces and military alliances, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
„Nuclear powers must maintain global strategic stability and abide by the principle of equal and indivisible stability, and not interfere with each other's vital interests,” said a joint statement by the Russian and Chinese presidents, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping .
In particular, the “expansion of military alliances and coalitions and the creation of military bridgeheads directly on the borders of other nuclear powers” should be avoided, says the text published after the meeting of the two leaders in Beijing.
The declaration is most likely directed mostly against Ukraine's planned accession to NATO, DPA notes.
Russia justifies its invasion of the neighboring country by expanding the Western alliance to the east. The nuclear power considers its security threatened by Ukraine's possible membership in the US-led military alliance.
China, which is officially neutral in the conflict, has not condemned Russia's war against Ukraine.
The two countries also accused the United States of having medium-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
„It is about the creation of the US global anti-aircraft system and the deployment of its potential in different parts of the world, in space, and the expansion of the potential for high-precision non-nuclear weapons in Europe and the South Pacific, it is also written in the general statement.