After initially blaming the US for provoking the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, China and its leadership are singing a slightly different tune on Friday as Russian forces waltz into Kiev following a brief - and almost embarrassing - a military campaign. As fighting breaks out just north of Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday during a call with President Putin that he supported solving "the Ukraine crisis" through "talks".
There have also been reports about Russia potentially sending a delegation to Minsk for renewed talks with Ukraine.
Unsurprisingly, Chinese state media, who were among the first to report the news, used carefully considered language to discuss the 'incursion' into Ukraine. For example, they refused to call the attack "an invasion".
In a readout of the call on state broadcaster CCTV, Xi pointed out that the "situation in eastern Ukraine has undergone rapid changes... (and) China supports Russia and Ukraine to resolve the issue through negotiation".
Russian forces have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, unleashing air strikes and sending troops deep into the country, after weeks of diplomatic efforts failed to deter Putin from launching the military operation.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed that President Xi and President Putin discussed the situation during a phone call Thursday afternoon, claiming that President Xi shared China's position about respecting territorial sovereignty with Putin. China has shared "a certain amount of discomfort" with Russia's move.
At the same time, Beijing has offered its own widely discredited reasoning for why an incursion into Taiwan might be justified.
But that hasn't stopped Beijing from offering its tacit support to Russia - and it's not only the...