Putin arrives in China, his first trip outside former USSR over past year
Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived by plane in Beijing to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and participate in the Belt and Road forum.
Source: Reuters; Kremlin-aligned news agency RIA Novosti
Details: Putin arrived in Beijing on 17 October.
The talks with Xi Jinping are scheduled to take place on 18 October in two stages: first in an expanded format, then in a narrower setting, at a working breakfast session. The Kremlin has not ruled out that Putin and Xi will have a face-to-face conversation outside the talks "on the most sensitive topics".
Putin will speak at the Belt and Road forum during his visit to China.
The Russian delegation includes senior government officials and business officials.
Putin was met at Beijing airport by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
Reuters reported that the purpose of the trip was to demonstrate trust and a "no-limits" partnership between the two countries, even in the midst of the war in Ukraine.
This is Putin's second trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for him in March. It is also the Kremlin leader's first official trip outside the former Soviet Union this year, following a visit to Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, earlier this month.
Background: The ICC, which has accused Vladimir Putin of illegally deporting children from Ukraine, has ordered 123 member states to arrest the Russian president and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
Neither Kyrgyzstan nor China is a member of the ICC, established to prosecute war crimes.
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