Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin on Tuesday afternoon.
15:54•Updated 17:58
The presidents of China and Russia shook hands in the Kremlin in the middle of a huge, lavish hall in the glow of decorative chandeliers.
The meeting did not convey a particularly warm impression. For example, the presidents hardly smiled, let alone exchanged information, and the handshake itself was relatively quick. The presidents listened to the National Anthems of their countries and proceeded to official negotiations.
The negotiations ended at half past six, Reuters reported.
The Russian news agency Ria Novosti reports that Vladimir Putin hoped to continue the contact to Xi Jinping on a regular basis. Putin also said that China is clearly Russia’s most important economic partner. According to Putin, the negotiations discussed increasing energy cooperation. According to Putin, Russia is ready to increase oil exports to China. Gas exports can also be increased.
According to Putin, Xi paid special attention to the peace negotiations in Ukraine during the meeting. Putin assessed the peace plan previously presented by China, stating that it could be the basis for peace, as long as “Ukraine and the West are ready for it.”
“Russia committed to continue peace negotiations”
Russia is committed to continuing peace talks as soon as possible, Reuters reported that Xi was quoted as saying by the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
Earlier, President Xi Jinping met with the Russian Prime Minister by Mihail Mishustin. Xi told him he was pleased to meet the Russian administration. In his opinion, the prime ministers should meet regularly again as soon as possible.
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg warned China again not to supply weapons to Russia, and according to him, China should not show any other support to Russia’s illegal war.
– We have not seen any evidence that China is supplying lethal weapons to Russia, but we have seen some signs that Russia has asked for it and that this is something that the Chinese authorities in Beijing are considering, said Stoltenberg on Tuesday in Brussels.
The Russian news agency Tass reports that President Putin may travel to China this year for a return visit. This was reported by Reuters.
The presidents are also said to have “signed a document on strategic cooperation.”
Xi arrived as the re-elected leader of China for a state visit to Moscow on Monday.
Updated 3/21/2023 at 5:41 p.m.: added Putin’s comments after the negotiations ended.
Updated 17:58: added subheading and updated with new comments.
Sources: Reuters, STT