CHINA’S XI JINPING TO VISIT RUSSIA NEXT WEEK

Fri 17 March 2023:

China‘s President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia next week, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

“At the invitation of President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22,” Hua Chunying tweeted.

She also stated that this will be a trip for friendship and peace.

“On the basis of no-alliance, no-confrontation and no-targeting of any third party, China and Russia have been promoting greater democracy in international relations,” she added.

The Kremlin said in a statement, “During the talks, topical issues of further development of comprehensive partnership relations and strategic cooperation between Russia and China will be discussed.”

The two leaders will also discuss expanding Russian-Chinese cooperation in the international arena. A number of important bilateral documents are being prepared for signing on the sidelines of the meeting, according to the Kremlin.

Mediator

in recent weeks, China has been trying to play mediator between Russia and Ukraine.

On February 24, exactly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, China released a 12-point position paper on the war, in which it called for a ceasefire and talks between the two parties.

Earlier this week, Beijing also offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine on the Black Sea grain deal, which is due to be extended.

And on Thursday, in a rare phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, China’s foreign minister said Beijing is concerned about the year-old grinding conflict spinning out of control and urged talks on a political solution with Moscow.

Qin Gang told Dmytro Kuleba that China has “always upheld an objective and fair stance on the Ukraine issue, has committed itself to promoting peace and advancing negotiations and calls on the international community to create conditions for peace talks”, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

Kuleba later tweeted that he and Qin “discussed the significance of the principle of territorial integrity”.

“I underscored the importance of [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s] Peace Formula for ending the aggression and restoring just peace in Ukraine,” wrote Kuleba, who spoke the same day with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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