Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the near future. "He [Chinese President Xi] calls me his friend, and I am happy to call him my friend because he is a person who does a lot for the development of Russian-Chinese relations," he noted at a meeting with pupils in Moscow.
Putin also stressed that Russia is working to strengthen relations with Asian countries, not only at the moment due to the consequences of its military operation in Ukraine, but has always intended to do so. He assured that the Asian region will become "the center of political life" and added that "it is a thing we cannot ignore".
Last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that Putin and Xi are "always in strategic communication through many ways."
