Russian Defense Minister-Designate Belousov & Shoigu to Attend Informal Putin-Xi Meeting - Kremlin

The informal Putin-Xi meeting will take place on May 16 during the Russian leader’s visit to China. Other members of Russian government, including acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and acting Finance Minister Anton Siluanov will participate in the meeting.

"We invited, naturally, the new defense minister [nominee], Belousov, to participate in this program, who, together with Lavrov and me, will participate in this meeting on the evening of May 16 that will be held in the very narrow format. Also, in continuation of our contacts with Chinese colleagues, we included Security Council Secretary Shoigu in the delegation — he should be a part of 1+4 [meeting]," Ushakov said.

"Most likely, the main and most important issues of foreign policy cooperation will be discussed during the informal meeting of leaders, which will take place at the end of the first day of work," the official shared.

The mutual visits of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping confirm the priorities of bilateral relations, the aide noted.

"This tradition is a clear confirmation of the high level of bilateral relations, the priority attention paid by both sides to the Russian-Chinese partnership. And this certainly also reflects the relations that have developed between the two leaders of our states," he told reporters.

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The cooperation between Russia and China is developing in all areas, and this partnership is a paragon of interstate relations, Ushakov emphasized.

"Today, cooperation is steadily developing in all areas, and as our leaders have repeatedly stressed, and, above all, [Chinese] President Xi, this partnership is a paragon of interstate relations in the 21st century," he said.

The partnership between Moscow and Beijing also demonstrates resistance to any external pressure and is one of the stabilizing factors in international affairs in general, the official added.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang to visit Russia this summer. The Kremlin aide also mentioned that Moscow and Beijing are cooperating in high-tech industries as well, including in creating a lunar station and drafting projects related to nuclear power plants.

"I have already mentioned that our governments [Russia and China] actively cooperate, the main thing is that the governments meet regularly. The visit of the head of the Chinese government is already scheduled for this summer," Ushakov said. "We note Beijing's balanced position on the Ukrainian crisis, Beijing understands the true causes of its occurrence."

China also emphasizes that without Russia, it is counterproductive to discuss anything in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, the official added.

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Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will discuss international cooperation, including within the UN and BRICS.

"There will be an in-depth exchange of views on cooperation in various international organizations and structures, including the UN, where Russia and China stand in solidarity on almost all topics of the UN agenda. Naturally, cooperation between the two countries within the framework of BRICS will also be touched upon," Ushakov told reporters.

The Chinese side has given a preliminary agreement to come to the BRICS summit in Russia's Kazan, the official added.

According to Ushakov, during Putin's visit to Harbin (China), the Russian president will be accompanied by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.

Newly appointed members of the Russian government will accompany President Vladimir Putin during his visit to China and participate in the negotiations.

"Then an expanded composition with the participation of representative delegations of the two parties, including members of the Russian government in an updated composition and their counterparts from the State Council of the People's Republic of China [will meet]," he pointed out.

Russian deputy prime ministers, including First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov Dmitry Chernyshenko, Yury Trutnev, Tatiana Golikova and Alexander Novak will speak at the Russia-China meeting in expanded format as chairs of bilateral commissions, Ushakov added.

The preparations for the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Russia are underway, Yury Ushakov also noted.

“Yes, active preparations are underway,” he mentioned.

"We have some international trips planned in the near future," Ushakov told reporters, when asked about Putin’s potential international trips, including his visit to Turkiye.