File image of Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
New Delhi: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the plan.
Xi’s meeting with Putin will be part of a push for multi-party talks on peace in Ukraine and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used, the report added. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February last year.
Preparations for the trip at at an early stage and the timing has not been finalised, the WSJ said, adding that Xi could visit in April or in early May, when Russia celebrates its World War Two victory over Germany.
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi arrived in Moscow on Tuesday as the country appears to be ramping up its diplomatic effort to push for a peace settlement in Ukraine, and just hours after Putin announced Russia was suspending its participation in a landmark nuclear arms treaty with the United States.
Wang will likely discuss Xi’s trip while he is in Moscow, WSJ said, quoting people familiar with the summit planning.
China-Russia ties ‘solid as rock’
Meanwhile, Wang said relations with Russia were “solid as rock” even as Beijing moves to portray itself as a neutral actor that can broker peace in Ukraine.
In a meeting on Tuesday with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Wang said China sought to “promote mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas” as the two nations defend national interests.
He is set to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday.
With inputs from agencies
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