Putin meets with China's Xi in Samarkand

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the historic city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

According to a brief statement issued by the Kremlin in Moscow, Xi and Putin are currently holding bilateral talks.

It is their first face-to-face meeting since Beijing Olympics in February of this year.

The duo exchanged several phone calls after Russia launched a war on Ukraine on Feb. 24.​​​​​​​