Xi cautioned Putin against deploying nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to reports.

Chinese Officials Claim to Have Prevented Nuclear Warfare

According to a report by the Financial Times, Chinese officials have privately taken credit for preventing nuclear warfare by claiming that President Xi Jinping warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons earlier this year.

During Xi’s visit to Moscow in March, he reportedly made these comments to Putin, as revealed by Western and Chinese officials told the Financial Times. However, the Kremlin denied the conversation when asked, stating that anything other than the official accounts of the leaders’ discussion is “fiction.”

According to sources from the Financial Times, China is boasting about successfully cooling Putin’s threats of nuclear warfare.

“The Chinese are taking credit for sending the message at every level,” revealed a senior U.S. official told the Financial Times.

Prior to Xi’s visit, Western officials had already predicted that it would help reduce nuclear tensions.

Josep Borrell, who oversees foreign policy for the European Union, stated at the time of the visit that it “reduces the risk of nuclear war and they [the Chinese] have made it very, very clear.”

Failed Mutiny and Kremlin Purge

The report comes two weeks after a failed mutiny by the Wagner Group in Russia. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that Russia will emerge stronger following the revolt. Putin launched a purge of the Kremlin following the mercenary group’s advance on the Russian capital.