China's leader Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow

STORY: Chinese President Xi Jinping flew into Moscow on Monday where he is expected to press Beijing's role as a potential peacemaker in the Ukraine conflict.

The trip had already been scheduled before news of Friday's ICC arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.  

The Russian President is accused by the International Criminal Court of war crimes over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia since the start of the war.

Neither Moscow nor Beijing are member states of the ICC, whose action the Kremlin said was outrageous but also legally void.

Andrea Kendall-Taylor is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security:

"Him [Xi Jinping] going to Moscow at this time provides a really important signal of his continued support for Putin. And of course, that is designed to show the United States in particular that these two countries are aligned, that they have this deep partnership and that they stand in opposition to the United States, that they are united in pushing back against U.S. and Western influence that they see as limiting their power on the international stage and is designed to contain both of their countries

The U.S. also does not recognize the ICC, but President Joe Biden said Friday he believed the charges against Putin were "justified".

[BIDEN] "He's clearly committed war crimes."

Washington is skeptical about China's willingness to mediate in the war in Ukraine, given its refusal to condemn Russia's invasion.

China published last month a 12-point paper calling for dialogue and a settlement in Ukraine.

But there are also fears that Beijing is preparing to provide lethal arms to Russia:

"I think the key tipping point will be if China were to provide lethal aid to to Russia, that would be, I think, a big game changer for the Europeans. And I think that's why Beijing might be having pause about taking that additional step. But if that were to happen, which the United States, the U.S. administration is warning, I think that would be another catalyst in really pushing Europe far closer to the United States position vis a vis China."

Isolated on the global stage, Putin more than ever will be looking for a show of solidarity from Xi, who he described as a ‘good old friend’ in a newspaper article published in China.

Last year the two leaders signed a so-called "no limits" strategic partnership.