Xi and Putin condemn U.S., pledge closer ties as Russia advances in Ukraine

BEIJING/MOSCOW, May 16 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned what they cast as increasingly aggressive U.S. behaviour on Thursday and pledged to deepen their countries' already close defence and military ties.
In a clear snub to Washington, whose top diplomat flew into China last month to try to persuade Beijing to scale back its relationship with Moscow, Xi signalled Beijing and Moscow saw eye to eye on a range of important issues, including on Ukraine, and would resist Western pressure to downgrade their ties.