After initially threatening to use tactical nuclear weapons if invaded with specific conditions, Russia held discussions with China regarding the situation in Ukraine. The Kremlin's statement, which declared "It was stated that any discussion of a political and diplomatic settlement is impossible without the participation of Russia and taking into account its security interests," presented a seemingly peaceful posture to the international community. This statement came amidst a request for Russian diplomatic, military, and economic support from the parliament of Transnistria, an eastern region outside the control of the Moldovan government.
This approach aligns with a common Russian tactic: creating confusion among participants to gain an advantage in the final stages.俄中達共識：烏克蘭解決方案須有俄羅斯參與 中央社 20240303
俄羅斯外交部今天表示，俄羅斯副外交部長格魯金（Mikhail Galuzin）和中國政府歐亞事務特別代表李輝認為，沒有莫斯科的參與，就不可能討論烏克蘭問題的解決方案。
路透社報導，李輝在他第2次推動烏克蘭危機政治解決方案的歐洲訪問期間與格魯金會面。他此行也將造訪波蘭、烏克蘭和德國。
俄羅斯外交部在官網發布聲明指出：「針對烏克蘭危機這個主題，進行了非常積極與徹底的意見交換。」
聲明表示，雙方認為，「沒有俄羅斯的參與和不考慮俄羅斯的安全利益，就不能討論政治外交解決問題」。
俄羅斯2022年2月全面入侵烏克蘭，稱此為將烏克蘭「去納粹化」的「特別軍事行動」；但基輔及其西方盟國都說，這場戰爭是一場無端的土地掠奪，開打兩年後，這場戰爭幾乎每天都在造成平民死亡。
Moscow says Russia, China agree that Russia must be present in Ukraine talks AsiaOne 202403032
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and China's special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, said it is impossible to discuss a Ukraine settlement without Moscow's participation, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday (March 3).
The Chinese envoy met with Galuzin during his second trip to Europe promoting a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, a tour that will also include Poland, Ukraine and Germany.
"A very engaged and thorough exchange of views took place on the topic of the Ukrainian crisis," the Russian foreign ministry said in the statement posted on its website.
"It was stated that any discussion of a political and diplomatic settlement is impossible without the participation of Russia and taking into account its interests in the security sphere."
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, calling it a "special military operation" to "denazify" its neighbour.
Kyiv and its Western allies call the war, which two years later continues to kill civilians nearly on daily basis, an unprovoked land grab.
