The Russian leadership expects contacts with Chinese President Xi Jinping, regardless of US President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today, quoted by Reuters and TASS, BTA reports.
“We expect our own contacts with Xi Jinping“, Peskov said in response to a reporter's question about possible Russian-Chinese contacts after Trump's visit.
Earlier today, the Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China very soon, with preparations for his visit almost complete.
Over the years, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have met more than 40 times, most recently in August and September in China last year, Reuters.
Peskov also said that Russia and Ukraine were preparing for a prisoner exchange and were currently coordinating the lists of prisoners of war. “Currently, work is underway to coordinate the lists. This is the most difficult part of this work, but it is progressing very quickly“, he added.“
The Kremlin spokesman also said that at the moment only Washington is acting as a mediator between Moscow and Kiev, and that the Europeans are unwilling and unable to act in this capacity.”
”Currently, they are actually directly participating in the war on the side of the Kiev regime and are rather advocates of the idea of dealing a “devastating blow“ against Russia, a “crushing defeat”, he noted. "Of course, with such an approach one can hardly claim to be a mediator," Peskov added.
Meanwhile, the reaction of the world media to the test of the strategic missile "Sarmat" has shown that its importance is being realized around the world, he added.