Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Russia in May. The visit is to attend the 80th anniversary event of Victory Day, commemorating Russia's victory in World War II.
According to Yonhap News and TASS on the 10th, Igor Morgulov, the Russian ambassador to China, appeared on the state TV channel Russia 24 and stated, "President Xi has accepted the invitation to attend the 80th anniversary celebration of the Great Patriotic War (the Russian term for World War II) victory, which will be held in Moscow on May 9."
Regarding this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing that when asked whether mutual visits between President Putin and President Xi are being planned, "Such contacts and visits are being prepared," TASS reported.
However, the Chinese side reportedly told Yonhap News that there is "no news to announce at this time" regarding President Xi's visit to Russia. Typically, China announces President Xi's overseas visits only when the schedule is imminent.
President Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in person three times last year alone, and held a video conference on the 21st of last month. During the video conference last month, the Kremlin announced that President Putin invited President Xi to this year's Victory Day event. Additionally, it is known that President Xi invited President Putin to the 80th anniversary event of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, which will be held in Beijing this August.
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