Putin to Make Longest Foreign Trip in a Decade with Four-Day Visit to China

By Staff, Agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to travel to China next week for a four-day visit, marking his longest overseas trip since 2014, Russian media reported on Sunday.

According to Vesti 1, citing Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin, Putin will hold extensive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and take part in “large-scale” discussions involving broader delegations.

He is also expected to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] summit, scheduled to begin on August 31.

The visit will coincide with Beijing’s major commemorations on September 3, marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.

Putin had accepted Xi’s personal invitation to the event during the Chinese leader’s May visit to Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations.

Reports note that speculation had circulated over a possible meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump while in China. Such rumors followed their recent summit in Alaska earlier this month, though neither Moscow nor Washington confirmed the prospect.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in July that if Trump were present in China, the “expediency” of a meeting might be discussed.

However, he also dismissed talk of a potential three-way Putin-Trump-Xi meeting, saying Moscow had “nothing to say” on that matter.