Chinese leader to visit Russia

A face-to-face meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could take place as early as next week, much earlier than planned.

China has been offering to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for a while. These efforts by Beijing, which provides diplomatic support to Russia, are not accepted by Western countries that support Ukraine.

The Russian news agency Tass reported that Putin invited Xi for an official visit in the spring. The US Wall Street Journal wrote that the visit is expected to take place in April or early May.

Sources informed on the matter said that Xi’s visit to Russia could take place as early as next week. The Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin did not respond to questions about Xi’s visit to Russia.

China and Russia signed an agreement called “unlimited” partnership a few weeks before the invasion of Ukraine, which began in February last year. The two leaders last met in September. (Reuters)