Russia expects a visit from the Chinese president in the spring

Xi to Putin: The road to peace talks on Ukraine will not be easy

Putin told Xi that he wants to boost military cooperation between Russia and China.

A.F.B

Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin yesterday that Beijing and Moscow should closely coordinate and cooperate in international affairs, according to Chinese state media.

Xi also told Putin in a video call that the road to peace talks on Ukraine will not be easy, and China will continue to uphold its "objective and fair stance" on the issue, according to China Central Television.

The Russian president assured his Chinese counterpart that he wanted to strengthen military cooperation with Beijing.

"In the context of unprecedented pressure and provocations from the West, we are defending our principled positions," Putin said.

In remarks at the start of the meeting via video link between the two leaders, Putin said, "We are expecting a visit from you, dear president, dear friend, we are expecting a state visit from you next spring to Moscow."

He added that the visit "will show the world the closeness of Russian-Chinese relations."

Putin spoke for about eight minutes, during which he indicated that Russian-Chinese relations are increasingly important as a stabilizing factor, and that he aims to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries.

In a response that lasted about two minutes, Xi said that China is ready to increase strategic cooperation with Russia, against the backdrop of what he described as the "difficult" situation in the entire world.

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