Chinese president arrives in Moscow for talks with Russian leader

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in his first trip to Russia since he gained third term as China’s president earlier this month.

“Hello Moscow! Glad to be back in ‘the city of a thousand domes’,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said on Twitter, as Russian media posted videos of Xi’s plane landing at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport.

Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Xi will hold an informal meeting on Monday, but the main meeting between the both delegations will take place on Tuesday.

“First, an official meeting ceremony, then narrow-format talks, talks in an expanded format with two delegations, signing of documents, a statement for the media. There will also be a state dinner. Therefore, a very extensive program for this visit,” Peskov elaborated on Tuesday’s program during a press briefing.

He also said Putin and Xi will “one way or another” discuss Ukraine, and Putin will give his Chinese counterpart a “first-hand view of the current situation from the Russian side.”

Separately, Oleksiy Danilov, head of the Ukrainian National Defense and Security Council, commented on Xi’s visit to Moscow, saying that Russia must either surrender or withdraw from Ukraine to successfully implement China’s peace proposal.

“The formula for the successful implementation of China’s ‘peace plan’. The first and main point is the surrender or withdrawal of the Russian occupation forces from the territory (of Ukraine) in accordance with the norms of international law and the UN Charter in order to establish sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” Danilov said on Twitter.

In February, the Chinese Foreign Ministry released a statement listing Beijing’s position on a political settlement to the war in Ukraine, where 12 points were listed, including respecting the sovereignty of all countries, ceasing hostilities, resuming peace talks, and resolving the humanitarian crisis in the region.

The plan also calls for keeping nuclear power plants safe, facilitating grain exports, and stopping unilateral sanctions, noting that “dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis.”