China and Russia “cannot be moved away” from one another, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told his counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, in their first phone call since US President Donald Trump upended American foreign policy with a sweeping pivot toward Moscow as he pushes for peace in Ukraine.

The leaders of Russia and China sought to project a unified front on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s President Xi Jinping had a call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Monday and said he was pleased with Moscow’s efforts to hold a summit with the U.S. toward ending the war in Ukraine, state broadcaster reported.