Putin visit to China on agenda, sides to decide on date later - Peskov

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) - A visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to China is on the agenda, but its date will be agreed later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The dialogue continues at various levels. As you know, Valentina Matviyenko has paid a rather substantive visit to China in recent days. Of course, Putin's visit is also on the agenda, but its date has yet to be set," Peskov told reporters when commenting on media reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping was expecting Putin to visit China in October 2023.

The media said earlier that Beijing was preparing for Putin's visit in October for the third One Belt One Road forum.

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev previously said during Russian-Chinese consultations on public security, justice, and law and order that Putin had been invited to the One Belt One road forum as the main guest.

"This is a highly appropriate moment to maintain the high tempo of development in Russian-Chinese bilateral relations. The plans for summit contacts in Beijing were mentioned during the recent state visit of Chinese President Xi to Moscow. I will inform you when the precise date is agreed," Peskov said.

Speaking of the topics to be discussed at the meeting, he said the two leaders would focus on bilateral trade and economic cooperation. "But also important would be an exchange of views on the situation around the world and in various regions which are of particular significance to each of our countries," he said.

"And of course, given the similarity of views on the essence of international relations and their required features, Moscow and Beijing have rather good prospects to continue their discussions, and importantly, constructive interaction, which has never targeted third countries but, quite the opposite, has been aimed at bringing additional advantages to the Russian and Chinese peoples," Peskov said.