At their first meeting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the presidents of Russia and China have made a demonstration of their solidarity. Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping met on Thursday on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. At the beginning of the meeting, Putin thanked Beijing for its support and the “balanced position” of Russia’s Chinese friends on the Ukraine crisis, Russian news agencies quoted him as saying. “We understand your questions and concerns in this regard and, of course, we are ready to prese…