Putin, Xi meet for first time since invasion of Ukraine
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Loading... - Liam Jones
- 16 Sep 2022
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Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Uzbekistan, their first meeting since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began and triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.
Xi, on his first trip outside China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, met Putin in the ancient Uzbek Silk Road city of Samarkand where they will attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The two leaders discussed the war in Ukraine, tensions over Taiwan and the deepening partnership between rising superpower China and natural resources titan Russia.
Putin and Xi gathered with other Asian leaders in Samarkand for the summit, which has been touted as a challenge to Western global influence.
The two presidents are being joined by the leaders of India, Iran, Pakistan, Türkiye and several other countries for the meeting in the Uzbek city set for Thursday and Friday.
The main summit day will be Friday, but the meeting between the Chinese and Russian leaders later Thursday is set to be closely watched, with talks about the conflict in Ukraine expected.
Earlier on Thursday, the two first held separate meetings with leaders of ex-Soviet Central Asian nations. Putin sat down with the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan while Xi met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Read More…
