MEET TODAY. ABC NEWS FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT TOM SOUFI BURRIDGE IS IN KYIV. SO, TOM , WHAT'S THE LATEST ON THIS PROPOSED PEACE PLAN? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY AFTER THEIR JOINT STATEMENT? I UNDERSTAND THAT TALKS ARE FINISHED NOW. YEAH, THREE AND A HALF HOURS OF TALKS, KYRA, TODAY. DAY TWO OF THIS PIVOTAL SUMMIT. AND THERE ARE SOME TAKEAWAYS. I MEAN, THERE'S THE BIG PICTURE, DEEPER ECONOMIC TIES, DEEPER ECONOMIC COOPERATION, THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF RUSSIAN ENERGY TO CHINA. YOU THAT'S THE BIG PICTURE. ALSO, GLOBALLY, GEOPOLITICALLY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS RUSSIA AND CHINA KIND OF SETTING OUT, I THINK, TONIGHT, SAYING TO MUCH OF THE WORLD AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, AFRICA, THE MIDDLE EAST, LATIN AMERICA KIND OF SAYING, LOOK, YOU KNOW, THE ERA OF US DOMINANCE AROUND THE WORLD HAS ENDED. WE ARE KIND OF BIG POWERS. WE BELIEVE IN A MULTIPOLAR WORLD . YOU KNOW, THIS IS HOW WE SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY. SO THERE'S THAT KIND OF BIG PICTURE, I THINK, TO THAT PART OF THE WORLD. ON UKRAINE, I THINK YOU CHINA TONIGHT HAS NOT GONE KIND OF AS FAR PROBABLY AS PUTIN WOULD HAVE LIKED. I MEAN, HE'S NOT YOU KNOW, SHE'S NOT COMING OUT AND SAYING WE'RE GOING TO GET INVOLVED WITH THE WAR. THERE'S NO MENTION OF ARMS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. UNSURPRISINGLY, BUT WHAT CHINA IS DOING TONIGHT IS SORT OF SUBTLY SAYING WE'VE GOT YOUR BACK ON UKRAINE. >> AND THERE'S A REFERENCE IN THE JOINT STATEMENT TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONFLICT NOT ESCALATING FURTHER HERE. AND IN A WAY THAT'S CONTRADICTORY BECAUSE THE SITUATION IS ONLY KIND OF DETERIORATED IN UKRAINE BECAUSE OF RUSSIA'S INVASION OF A SOVEREIGN COUNTRY. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, CHINA IS SAYING, I THINK IMPLICITLY TO THE WEST, UKRAINE'S GOT THIS OFFENSIVE COMING UP. WE KNOW THE UNITED STATES IS WORKING REALLY HAND IN HAND WITH THE UKRAINIANS AT THE MOMENT, TRAINING THEM, ARMING THEM. THERE'S A BIGGER OFFENSIVE BEING PREPARED FOR THE COMING WEEKS. AND I THINK CHINA IMPLICITLY IS SAYING DON'T BEAT RUSSIA TOO MUCH, DON'T DEFEAT PUTIN. TOO MUCH, DON'T MAKE THIS MORE DANGEROUS THAN IT CURRENTLY IS . >> SO, OKAY, THEN WHERE DO WE STAND ON THE INITIAL CONCERN THAT CHINA WAS GOING TO PROVIDE VLADIMIR PUTIN AND HIS SOLDIERS WITH WEAPONS? IS THAT OFF THE TABLE STILL ON THE TABLE? >> WELL, I THINK IT'S KIND OF PUBLICLY OFF THE TABLE. I DON'T THINK THE CHINESE GOING NOW. I MEAN, I THINK MOST PEOPLE MOST ANALYSTS BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD BE QUITE A RISKY STEP FOR THE CHINESE. I MEAN, DO THEY DO IT COVERTLY? COULD THEY GET AWAY WITH THAT? I MEAN, I WAS IN A BRIEFING EARLIER WITH WESTERN OFFICIALS AND THEY SAID THEY'D SEEN IMAGES OF ARTILLERY SHELLS WITH CHINESE WRITING APPEARING. BUT THE WESTERN OFFICIALS DID POINT OUT THAT, LOOK, THE INTERNATIONAL ARMS MARKET, IT IS A FLUID PLACE. SO IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE THAT CHINESE SHELLS ARE POSSESSED BY OTHER COUNTRIES AND END UP IN THE POSSESSION OF THE RUSSIANS. BUT THE IDEA THAT THE CHINESE ARE DIRECTLY ARMING THE RUSSIANS RIGHT NOW IS NOT REALLY A REALITY. I THINK, LOOK, YOU KNOW, CHINA IS PROVIDING LOTS OF OTHER SUPPORT. IT'S GIVING, YOU KNOW, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE COMPONENTS, ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. YOU KNOW, THERE'S EVIDENCE THAT IT'S SUPPLYING DRONES, COMMERCIAL DRONES, NOT THE SORT OF MILITARY LETHAL DRONES, BUT THEY CAN BE CONVERTED. THEY USED MASSIVELY ON THE BATTLEFIELD BY BOTH SIDES. SO, YOU KNOW, THERE IS SOME PRACTICAL SUPPORT. BUT REALLY TODAY AND THIS SUMMIT IN GENERAL IS ABOUT PRESIDENT XI STANDING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH PRESIDENT PUTIN AND LEADERS. REALLY THAT IN SOME SENSE IS THIS QUITE WEAKENED BY THE CONFLICT HERE IN UKRAINE? IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO READ, YOU KNOW, HOW WEAK HE IS BACK IN RUSSIA BECAUSE IT'S AN AUTOCRACY, BECAUSE IT'S A DEMOCRACY. BUT, YOU KNOW, SHE'S STANDING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH HIM TODAY AND THEY ARE SAYING, OKAY, WE'VE PUT A PEACE PROPOSAL OUT THERE. THE CHINESE AND THE RUSSIANS ARE SAYING, OH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TAKING THE MORAL HIGH GROUND. I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER MESSAGE COMING OUT TONIGHT. THAT THE RUSSIANS AND THE CHINESE ARE TRYING TO TAKE THE MORAL HIGH GROUND ON UKRAINE. AND IN SOME SENSES, THAT'S RIDICULOUS. I MEAN, IF YOU KNOW THE REALITY ON THE GROUND HERE IN UKRAINE, YOU KNOW, RUSSIA HAS INVADED A SOVEREIGN COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE WAR CRIMES EVIDENCE, WHICH IS WIDESPREAD. AND YOU KNOW THAT THE RUSSIANS ARE JUST PUSHING ON IN THE EAST AND TRYING TO TAKE MORE LAND. BUT THE CHINESE THAT ARE PUTTING THIS PROPOSAL OUT THERE SAYING WE'RE FOLLOWING THE NORMS OF THE UNITED NATIONS ,SOMETHING THAT IS COMPLETELY REJECTED BY THE UNITED STATES AND ITS ALLIES. BUT IT IS I THINK, AGAIN, CHINA AND RUSSIA APPEALING TO MUCH OF THE REST OF THE WORLD, AFRICA, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND SAYING, OH, WE ARE THE ONES ACTUALLY PUSHING OF PEACE. THEY'RE PLAYING A GAME HERE. THEY'RE TRYING TO BE THE BROKERS WHEN THAT DOESN'T MIRROR THE REALITY. BUT IT IS A MESSAGING PART OF THEIR PROPAGANDA. >> AND IN CERTAIN CORNERS OF THE WORLD, IT MIGHT WORK TO SOME DEGREE. SO THEY'RE MEETING NOW. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY IS MEETING WITH JAPAN'S PRIME MINISTER THERE IN KYIV. >> WHY NOW? WELL, I THINK THIS IS , AGAIN, JUST A REALLY INTERESTING KIND OF PIECE OF THE BROADER JIGSAW PUZZLE. >> YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT THESE TWO KEY LEADERS, RUSSIA AND CHINA, MEETING IN MOSCOW, YOU KNOW, SORT OF A LANDMARK SUMMIT. BUT THERE ARE MANY EVENTS HAPPENING AROUND THE SIDE OF THIS. WE HAD DRONE ATTACKS IN RUSSIAN CONTROLLED CRIMEA LATE LAST NIGHT. THE UKRAINIANS CLAIMING THEY'VE DESTROYED RUSSIAN MISSILES AND THAT THE LEADER OF JAPAN. IT'S THE FIRST TIME A JAPANESE LEADER HAS VISITED A COUNTRY DURING WARTIME SINCE WORLD WAR TWO . AND I THINK THE TIMING OF THE JAPANESE LEADER TO COME INTO KYIV TODAY IS NO SURPRISE. AND JAPAN IS A KEY ALLY OF UKRAINE. >> AND I THINK IT'S, AGAIN, THE WEST COORDINATING THIS, MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS A BIT OF MESSAGING WHILE THIS CHINESE RUSSIAN SUMMIT GOES ON TO SAY, HEY, LOOK, YOU KNOW, RUSSIA HAS ITS ALLIES, IMPORTANT ALLIES, BUT UKRAINE HAS A LOT OF ALLIES TO A LOT OF FRIENDS TO YOU KNOW, WORLD LEADERS HAVE BEEN COMING IN IN DROVES INTO THIS CAPITAL CITY THROUGHOUT THE TIME I'VE BEEN HERE. AND , YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE CHINESE LEADER IS SYMBOLIC, IMPORTANT, AND IT IS PART OF THE OVERALL GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMIC. AND WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT, YOU IT IS THE KIND OF OVER TIME WE ARE REALLY SEEING THE CREATION OF TWO BROAD CAMPS. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, TWO BIG CAMPS. AND UKRAINE IS THE AREA T