Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will sign a set of agreements in Moscow next week that will usher in a “new era,” the Kremlin said on Friday.
The Chinese leader will be in Russia from Monday to Wednesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin announced this Friday, for talks with a strategic ally, a little more than a year after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement was released a few hours before the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced an arrest warrant against the Russian president for the forced deportation of children in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
Xi and Putin will hold a first meeting on Monday, before a day of more formal negotiations on Tuesday.
“The leaders will sign (…) a joint declaration on strengthening our global partnership and our strategic relationship, which will enter a new era,” said diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Ushakov also praised Xi’s “restraint” on the conflict in Ukraine, an issue in which China seeks to present itself as a mediator.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang insisted in a telephone conversation with the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmitro Kuleba, that Kiev and Moscow should start peace talks “as soon as possible.”
The United States expressed this Friday that it opposes the call for a ceasefire, since it considers that it would consolidate the “Russian conquest,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told reporters.
Chinese diplomacy stated that Xi’s is a “peace visit”, aimed at “practicing multilateralism (…) improving global governance and contributing to the development and progress of the world.”
The Kremlin indicated that Xi and Putin will discuss the “deepening of comprehensive collaboration and strategic cooperation between Russia and China,” especially “on the international scene,” adding that “important bilateral documents will be signed.”
Xi last visited Russia in 2019. Putin attended the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing last year, and the two leaders met in person at a regional security summit last September in Uzbekistan.
In a 12-point document released last month on the conflict in Ukraine, China called for dialogue and respect for the territorial integrity of all countries.
