Putin to meet Xi on his trip to China in October

Russian President Vladimir Putin will reportedly have a gathering with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on a visit to China this October, making it his first trip overseas since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest on alleged war crimes charges.

The Russian government announced on Tuesday that the two countries are in preparation for meetups at all levels, including high-ranking officials. In response to news reports that President Putin is set to visit the Belt and Road Forum in China in October, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that both sides are arranging a schedule, adding that further details of events and programs will be made public in timely manners, said Reuters.

Bloomberg News reported on Monday that three sources were quoted as saying that President Putin will head to China on his first foreign visit since the issuance of the ICC arrest warrant. It was reported that President Xi invited the Russian leader to the event.

They will see each other in seven months, if the meeting is held as scheduled, since President Xi's state visit to Russia in March. On President Putin's side, it will be his first visit to China since he had a summit talk with President Xi in Beijing last February prior to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.


Eun-A Cho achim@donga.com