“As for concrete bilateral events, I can say that appropriate plans are being drawn up,” Ambassador Igor Morgulov told RIA.
“What we can say, and which is a secret, in terms of priorities, is that the president of the People’s Republic of China is expected to visit Russia next year. “
China’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for confirmation.
Putin visited China in February 2022 and proclaimed an “unlimited” partnership days before sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. He returned to Beijing last May, after his landslide re-election, hailing a “new era” of relations centered on opposition to the United States. politics.
Mr. Xi was received in the Kremlin as a “dear friend” in 2023 after he obtained an unprecedented third term in office.
Morgulov told RIA that China, which has refrained from condemning Russia’s 34-month war in Ukraine, understands the rationale for the confrontation “to the extent that they face many of the same demanding situations: the United States and its allies are increasing pressure on China in the Asia-Pacific region.
NATO, he said, is “making plans to move its military infrastructure” to the region.
Russia and China had to respond to U.S. policy jointly, he said.
“In the international arena, it is up to our countries to respond further with a ‘dual counter-action’ to the ‘dual deterrence’ which the West is trying to pursue with regard to Russia and China,” RIA quoted him as saying.
China, working with Brazil, has put forward a peace plan for the Ukraine war, calling for a freezing of battle lines and taking into account the security interests of both sides.
Russia expressed its support for the proposals.
Ukraine, which has proposed its own plans to end the conflict – the latest of which includes a request for NATO membership – has dismissed the China-Brazil initiative as serving Moscow’s interests.
Russian forces lately occupy about 20% of Ukrainian territory and have recently reached their fastest speed since the early days of the war. -Reuters