Xi Jinping, Sergey Lavrov lay ground for Vladimir Putin’s Beijing visit

Beijing, April 9

Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Tuesday in a sign of mutual support and shared opposition to Western democracies amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The development came ahead of the Kremlin’s annnouncement that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi plan to have contacts but it gave no time frame for a possible Putin visit to Beijing.

Asked about a possible Putin visit to China, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Beijing could be seen as preparation for “upcoming contacts at the highest level” Meanwhile, Lavrov told Xi: “We are sincerely pleased with your successes, since these are the successes of friends, although not everyone in the world shares this attitude and are trying in every possible way to restrain China. — Reuters

#China #Russia #Ukraine #Vladimir Putin #Xi Jinping