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The former Russian president is on a two-day visit to Beijing to meet with top Chinese officials
The deputy chairman of Russia’ Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday and passed on a “personal message” from President Vladimir Putin.
Medvedev, who also chairs the ruling United Russia party, arrived in China for a two-day visit on December 10, and has been meeting top officials.
Before sitting down with Xi on Thursday, Medvedev conveyed “greetings, best wishes from President Putin, as well as a personal message from him,” according to TASS news agency.
While the details of the message from Putin have not been revealed, during their talks, Xi and Medvedev discussed the future of Russia-China relations.
Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012, noted that the current “unprecedentedly high level of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction” between Moscow and Beijing is the result of the “great work” carried out by Putin and Xi.
“I will recall here the famous Chinese proverb, I hope it will be translated correctly: ‘Similar voices resonate, and similar characters are attracted to each other.’ This seems to best illustrate how relations between the countries and their leaders are developing,” he said at the meeting.
After the talks, Medvedev told journalists that he had discussed with Xi the “general situation in the world,” including strategic stability and security, as well as the Ukraine conflict.
He stated that Russia is prepared to resume peace negotiations with Kiev as long as the Ukrainian side accepts the current realities “on the ground” and the positions previously outlined by President Putin.
Xi reiterated the importance of finding a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict, and condemned any attempts to further escalate the hostilities.
He also expressed hope that his meeting with Medvedev would contribute to a deepening of Russia and China’s bilateral relations and strategic cooperation, and stressed the need for both countries to continue working together through international organizations including the UN, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
