Moscow, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will visit Moscow soon, without specifying a timetable for the visit.
Putin revealed this during his meeting with visiting China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in Kremlin
Both sides, Putin said, have agreed for Xi’s visit to take place earlier.
Russian president said that he realized China has its own domestic political agenda and that the two countries were working to sort out all related issues. .
He said that the two countries will also implement all of their joint plans for bilateral meetings, while stressing that cooperation between Russia and China is extremely important for stabilizing the global situation.
China has recently come under Western and US criticism for providing military aid to Moscow, amid Beijing’s denial of these accusations.
Xi and Putin last met in person in China ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics last year, days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The two men announced a “no limits” partnership where no areas of cooperation were “forbidden”. They had a video call last December.
Beijing has not condemned Russia’s actions or joined Western-led sanctions against Moscow but it has urged “restraint” and stressed disputes should be settled by “peaceful means”.
Meanwhile, the United States is concerned by greater alignment between China and Russia, the US State Department said on Wednesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled China’s Xi Jinping would visit his country.
News about Xi’s visit comes as Washington has said China is considering providing weapons for Russia’s war in Ukraine, a move that would threaten to escalate the conflict into a confrontation between Russia and China on the one side and Ukraine and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance on the other.
Earlier, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Wang’s visit to Russia on the eve of the war’s one-year anniversary was further evidence of Beijing’s alignment with Moscow.
“We are concerned because these two countries share a vision,” Price told a press briefing. “It is a vision … of an era in which big countries could bully small countries, borders could be redrawn by force, an era in which might could make right,” he said.
“We have not yet seen the PRC provide Russia with lethal aid, but we don’t believe they’ve taken it off the table either,” Price added.