Chinese President Xi Jinping To Meet Russian Counterpart Vladimir Putin Next Week: Report

Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to travel to Russia as early as next week to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

New Delhi: It seems there is going to be a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin soon as the former is planning to travel to Russia, reported Reuters. The meeting could take place as early as next week, which would be sooner than previously expected, reported Reuters citing people familiar with the developments. 

The report comes after China offered to be a peace mediator in Ukraine. However, the attempt has been accepted well by the Western nations which have always raised doubt over China’s diplomatic ties with Russia. 

According to a Jan 30 report from Russia's Tass news agency, President Putin had invited Xi to visit the country in the spring. Reuters reported citing The Wall Street Journal report of last month, that Xi could visit Moscow in April or early May. 

Reuters mentioned that China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possible visit of Xi to Moscow. It added that the Kremlin declined to comment. 

Notably, China and Russia had struck a "no limits" partnership in February of 2022, a few weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Earlier, Russia acknowledged China's proposal for a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine, but said that the conditions for peace were not currently in place. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia "paid a lot of attention to China's plan", but added that they "did not see any of the necessary conditions for peace at this time", reported news agency AFP.

China has attempted to remain neutral in the conflict while maintaining a close relationship with its ally Russia. Last week, Beijing released a 12-point paper outlining steps to end the war in Ukraine, which included respect for all countries' territorial sovereignty.

While the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed gratitude for China's efforts, it also stated that any settlement must recognize Russia's control over four Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Although Russia claims to have annexed these regions, it has never had full control over them, according to AFP.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed the need for his country to work with China, saying that he believed China respected Ukraine's territorial integrity and security issues. He also noted that only a country whose territory was under attack could initiate peace initiatives.