A few weeks ago, the Kremlin already announced a trip by the Russian president to China in the month of October. Then China will host a summit to mark the tenth anniversary of the New Silk Road, the country’s international development strategy. Putin now also announced the trip himself during a visit to a school on the occasion of the start of the new school year.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has become increasingly isolated internationally. A visit to China, arguably Russia’s most important partner country, would be Putin’s first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest in March.
Putin and Xi sat together for the last time in March. The Chinese president was visiting Russia at the time. The two leaders describe each other as “friends”.
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