Chinese president Xi Jinping personally warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the Financial Times reports citing Western and Chinese officials.

According to FT, Xi delivered the message during his state visit to Moscow in March. A senior adviser to the Chinese government said that deterring Putin from using nuclear weapons has been central to China’s campaign to repair damaged ties with Europe.

Back in March, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that Xi’s visit to Moscow “reduces the risk of nuclear war”. In spite of Beijing’s consistent condemnation of the nuclear option in Ukraine, some of Kyiv’s allies have cast doubt on China’s commitment to such deterrence.

FT sources claim Putin was “left disappointed” in the wake of Xi’s visit, which failed to yield any tangible wins for Russia, such as the approval of the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline.

The Kremlin labelled the information provided to FT a “fiction”.

“No, I cannot confirm that. A lot of information was made available following this important visit (of Xi Jinping to Moscow — editor’s note). The essence of the negotiations was clearly outlined in the documents adopted as a result. Everything else is fiction,” Putin’s speaker Dmitry Peskov said in a statement.

In June, Putin announced the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus starting in July 2023. Defence minister Sergey Shoigu claimed that Moscow would retain control over the weapons.