Online Reporter
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with President Xi Jinping in China this week, attend a security summit and be the “main guest” of Xi’s at a military parade on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Putin will be in China, Russia’s biggest trading partner, from August 31 to September 3, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, saying a four-day trip of its kind was very rare for the Russian leader.
The first two days will be devoted to a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which is taking place in the city of Tianjin.
After that, Ushakov said Putin was due to travel to Beijing, where he is expected to hold talks with Xi and attend a military parade on Tiananmen Square on September 3 to mark the end of World War Two after Japan’s formal surrender.
Ushakov said Putin would be attending as “the main guest” and be seated on Xi’s right, while North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un would sit on Xi’s left.
Putin will also hold a string of bilateral meetings with other world leaders present in China at the same time, said Ushakov.
Among them are Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
A meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was not yet confirmed but was under discussion, Ushakov said. – reuters.com
