Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council held talks today with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which they discussed the crises in Ukraine and Syria, state news agency TASS reported.

Medvedev said Russia is ready for peacemaking with Ukraine, but only if Kiev understands the realities on the ground, TASS reported.

China wants to strengthen its “strategic alignment” with Russia, Xi Jinping told Dmitry Medvedev, who is visiting Beijing, adding that Beijing and Moscow should maintain close cooperation in all multilateral meetings.

“Both parties should lead global governance in the right direction ,(and) there should be consensus among friendly political parties in all countries, especially in the Global South,” Xi Jinping told Dmitry Medvedev.