The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, landed this Tuesday in Beijing, where he will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, within the framework of the Third Forum of the New Silk Roads.
The Xinhua news agency has reported that the Russian president arrived after 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT) at the airport in the capital of the Asian giant.
Putin will meet with Xi to exchange views on bilateral relations, which “are on the rise,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this Monday in Beijing , after meeting with his Chinese colleague, Wang Yi, according to a statement from the Chancellery.
At the meeting, which will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, both leaders will also discuss international issues, such as the war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas, in addition to the armed conflict that Russia began more than 600 days ago in neighboring Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov recalled that before flying to China, the Russian president held “a telephone marathon” with the president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, and the leaders of Egypt, Iran and Syria. , as well as with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the content of which he will inform Xi.
Putin in Beijing
Putin arrives in China with a large delegation of senior officials, including two vice prime ministers, as well as the heads of Foreign Affairs, Economic Development, Transportation, Finance and others.
The governor of the Central Bank, the head of Russian Railways, as well as the directors of the largest Russian bank, Sber, the VTB bank, the Rosneft company, the gas company Gazprom, the atomic agency Rosatom and other directors are also part of the delegation.
The advisor to the Russian Presidency, Yuri Ushakov, recalled this Monday that Putin will attend the Third Forum of the New Silk Roads in Beijing as a “main guest” and will speak at the event right after the host.
Starting today, Beijing hosts the Third Forum of the New Silk Roads, with which the Asian giant seeks to seduce what it calls the Global South with multimillion-dollar investment projects that, however, have also received criticism for the risk of debt they entail. .
With the initiative, which was presented ten years ago in Kazakhstan, Beijing seeks to strengthen its international influence and improve trade relations between Asia, Europe and Africa through the construction of ports, railways or airports.
BY NADEEM FAISAL BAIGA
