Chinese President
Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday
for an official visit to Russia during which he will meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin, CCTV public television announced.
This is the Chinese president's first visit to Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine and his first trip to Moscow for almost four years.
China and Russia have described Xi's trip as part of efforts to
strengthen their "boundless friendship."
China and Russia have described Xi's trip as part of efforts to strengthen their "boundless friendship."
Photo: ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / AFP
The Kremlin has welcomed China's peace plan for Ukraine and said it would be taken up in talks between Putin and Xi, which will start over dinner on Monday.
And they will continue on Tuesday.
ceasefire proposal
Beijing
has proposed a ceasefire
, but Washington has rejected the idea out of hand as an effective ratification of the ground gained by Russia on the battlefield.
Xi traveled to Russia shortly after the International Criminal Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges.
The Kremlin, which
does not recognize the authority of the ICC
, has dismissed his decision as "legally invalid and void."
The Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the ICC to "respect the jurisdictional immunity" of a head of state and "avoid politicization and double standards."
China sees Russia as
a source of oil and gas
for an energy-intensive economy, and as a partner in opposing what they both see as US domination of global affairs.
Developing
AFP
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