Vladimir Putin holds talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

Vladimir Putin holds talks with the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the head of the office of the CPC Central Committee Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg. The meeting was a prologue to the Russian President’s upcoming visit to China in October to a forum on international cooperation within the framework of the One Belt, One Road initiative.

Putin emphasized the importance of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia, which took place on March 20-22 this year. The President noted that the visit gave impetus to the development of ties between the countries, in particular, this concerns the international situation. “We are here speaking from a united position on the formation of a multipolar world, and not a world based on some rules that no one has seen and which change every day in accordance with the situation – for the benefit of those who came up with this ridiculous formula,” Putin said .

In addition, Xi Jinping’s visit gave impetus to trade, economic and humanitarian ties between Russia and China, the president noted. In particular, at a meeting with Deputy Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Zhang Guoqing at the Eastern Economic Forum on September 12, it was discussed that trade turnover between Russia and China in the first months of this year exceeded $120 billion, Putin noted. He hopes that figure will be closer to $200 billion by the end of the year.

“And of course, I was pleased to accept the invitation of the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China to visit China in October this year as part of a major event to promote the idea of ​​Chairman Xi Jinping, which has the international brand “One Belt, One Road,” Putin emphasized. According to him, this corresponds to the interests of the two countries. He noted that Russia and China act synchronously – regarding Russia’s idea of ​​creating a large Eurasian space and China’s idea of ​​“One Belt, One Road”. He said that he was glad to see Wang Yi in Russia and believed that exchanging views on the current situation would be useful.

Wang Yi conveyed greetings from Xi Jinping to Putin. He also noted that the visit of the Chinese leader to Russia set clear guidelines and gave impetus to the development of bilateral relations. In the modern world, tectonic shifts are taking place, multipolarity processes are unfolding at an accelerated pace, Wang Yi said. According to him, Russia and China, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, “strive for peace and development”: “We have great responsibility on our shoulders.” He said that on September 19 he held the 18th round of consultations on strategic security with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, and on September 18 he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to him, at these meetings they discussed bilateral relations and countering anti-globalization tendencies. The implementation of agreements between “you and Chairman Xi” was also discussed, he noted.

No matter how the international situation changes, China, “within the framework of your agreements with Chairman Xi,” intends to continue to strengthen interaction, business cooperation and coordination in the international arena with Russia, jointly protect common interests, and promote “international justice” in order to “develop in a more rational direction,” Wang Yi said. He also added that he is ready to listen to considerations on bilateral relations between the countries and on the upcoming “One Belt, One Road” forum.

After this, Putin added that he would inform Wang Yi on the situation in the Ukrainian direction and in the sphere of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh and Azerbaijani-Armenian settlement. According to him, Russian peacekeepers are doing everything possible to protect the civilian population in Karabakh. Putin said Moscow is in close contact with authorities in Yerevan, Stepanakert and Baku. He hopes that it will be possible to achieve a transfer of the situation to a peaceful channel.