Iran Press/ Europe: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed China’s plan for the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine when they met one-on-one on Monday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
"That they have discussed it is obvious because they said they would," the spokesman said.
When asked if there’s any progress with that issue, Peskov said: "I won’t make any assessments. Let’s wait for the statements [by the leaders] for the news media [following the talks on Tuesday]."
The spokesman didn’t say if the issues of natural gas contracts, military-technical cooperation, and others had been brought up at the meeting.
"The leaders will talk about this when they make their statements," Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman referred to the Defense Ministry the question of whether the defense ministers of Russia and China will hold a separate meeting during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia.
"That’s something you need to ask the Russian Defense Ministry, as I’m not aware of this. I can only speak about the presidential agenda," he said.
The Chinese president is paying a state visit to Russia on March 20-22. On Monday he held a one-on-one meeting with Putin that lasted about 4 1/2 hours. Talks are scheduled to continue in the Kremlin after 3 pm on Tuesday. The leaders are expected to make statements for the press afterward.
China’s peace plan
The Chinese Foreign Ministry in February published a document laying out its position on a political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine. It includes 12 points, including calls for a ceasefire, respect for the legitimate security interests of all countries, the settlement of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, the exchange of prisoners of war between Moscow and Kyiv, and the rejection of unilateral sanctions without authorization by the UN Security Council. The document described the talks as "the only way to resolve the crisis in Ukraine" and called on all sides to support Moscow and Kyiv in "moving toward each other" and promptly resuming a direct dialogue. It urged the global community to create conditions and provide a platform for the resumption of talks.
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