Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a call on Friday that Russia is willing to hold high level talks with Ukraine, China's foreign ministry said. China has refused to call Russia's action in Ukraine an "invasion" or criticise Moscow despite intensifying assaults from Russia's military. Putin told Xi that the United States and NATO had long ignored Russia's legitimate security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments, and continued to expand military deployment eastward, challenging Russia's strategic bottom line, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ... (full story)