Putin to meet China’s Wang Yi during Moscow visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin — AFP

MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet China’s top diplomat Wang Yi during his visit to Moscow this week, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Moscow and Beijing have said Wang Yi plans to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Ukraine, with China weighing in as Washington tries to push for an end of the three-year conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Wang and Putin as “good old friends and partners” and said they expected a bilateral meeting during Wang’s visit to Moscow, set to last from Monday to Wednesday.

The visit comes as US President Donald Trump expresses frustration at both Moscow and Kyiv for what he sees as stalling peace talks.

READ: Trump says ‘very angry’ with Putin over Ukraine

China has close relations with Russia, and Western countries have said that its vision for a settlement in Ukraine would be too beneficial for Moscow, with Beijing never having condemned the Kremlin’s 2022 offensive.

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Russia’s relations with China have grown far closer since it launched the conflict and faced a barrage of Western sanctions.

China presents itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict and says it is not sending weapons to either side.

European countries have called on China to press Moscow to come to the negotiating table on Ukraine.