Russian President Vladimir Putin said he expects his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to visit Kazan as part of the BRICS summit scheduled for October 22-24. Putin expressed his desire for the two to hold a face-to-face meeting, reported France Presse, quoted by BTA.
"We are expecting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit. I propose to hold a bilateral working meeting during the forum," Putin said at a meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East.
The two leaders are close partners and have met many times over the years to demonstrate "friendship without borders" between their two countries, which intensified after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. Moscow and Beijing jointly condemn what they consider American hegemony in international relations, AFP recalls.
In May last year, Vladimir Putin visited Beijing for talks with Xi Jinping.
China portrays itself as neutral in the conflict in Ukraine and claims that it does not supply weapons to either side. However, Americans and Europeans regularly accuse him of offering Russia, which is subject to heavy Western sanctions, crucial economic support for its military efforts.
The BRICS summit is also expected to be attended by another close partner of Putin and Beijing's regional rival - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who already visited Russia in July.
When it was created in 2009, the BRICS bloc included four member countries (Brazil, China, India and Russia), and in 2010 South Africa joined it. This year, BRICS expanded to include several more emerging economies, including Egypt and Iran.
Turkey, which is a member of NATO but has sometimes had tense relations with its Western allies, announced yesterday that it has applied to join the bloc.