Russia appreciates China's vision of possible prospects for launching attempts to settle the situation in Ukraine and Moscow welcomes any peace initiatives, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
"We welcome all peace initiatives. And of course, Moscow also welcomes the Chinese side's vision of possible prospects and grounds for the beginning of attempts to settle the situation [in Ukraine]," Peskov told Russian newspaper Izvestia.
The discussion of the Ukraine conflict during the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is "only the beginning of the conversation," and will be "very intense," he added.
Peskov also recalled that Kiev now "legally excludes the possibility of negotiations for itself."
"This is a long process, but the constructive position of the Chinese side impresses us," Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman also said that it is absolutely futile to discuss security issues that concern Russia without Moscow's participation, and the upcoming conference on Ukraine in Switzerland will become a "talking shop" with no prospects of reaching any tangible result.
Despite Beijing's balanced position on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, China's possible participation in the conference in Switzerland will not add to the effectiveness of this event, Peskov added.
The Kremlin also said that trade and economic cooperation between Russia and China is very multifaceted, there are certain problems, but rather they are growth problems.
"This is one of the elements of our trade and economic cooperation, which is very, very diverse. There are certain problems, but rather they are growth problems," Peskov said.
He added that the significant volume of Russia's mutual trade with China shows a mutual complementability of the economies.
The United States and other countries are trying to put pressure on China to limit its cooperation with Russia, but Beijing is strong enough to counteract this, Peskov said. The threat of secondary sanctions against China due to cooperation with the Russia is being overcome through dialogue, according to him.
The interaction between Moscow and Beijing in the international arena within integration platforms and international organizations is a serious balancing element, the Kremlin spokesman added.
"The Moscow-Beijing interaction in the context of integration platforms and the context of international organizations is a serious balancing element. The element that is balancing an already turbulent international agenda and a conflict-filled international agenda. That is why China was the first country that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin visited and is now visiting on a state visit [after the inauguration]," he noted.