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Putin confirms participation in Beijing’s Belt and Road forum

President Xi Jinping will visit Russia in July

MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed he will visit Beijing to attend the One Belt, One Road Forum set for May.

"At the invitation of the president of the People’s Republic of China, I am planning to take part in the Belt and Road forum, and with that in view I plan to take a working trip to Beijing," Putin said as he met with China’s Deputy Prime Minister, Zhang Gaoli.

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Putin says Russian-Chinese ties reached unprecedentedly high level

Gaoli, for his part, confirmed that President Xi Jinping will visit Russia in July. He said the Chinese leader has placed much emphasis on Putin’s scheduled participation in the forum, set in the Chinese capital on May 14-15. The One Belt, One Road program is China’s initiative to build a new Silk Road.

He said the main aim of his current trip to Russia is to pave the way for a summit meeting. Putin conveyed greetings to the Chinese leader, marking friendly relations of Moscow and Beijing based not only on a high level of inter-state relations, but also on the countries’ joint projects. Putin called his relations with Xi Jinping cordial and friendly.

Zhang Gaoli also conveyed greetings from the Chinese leader, noting that the Russian president is a great friend of China. The two leaders have personally met 20 times. "Such a deep personal friendship, agreements and decisions of the two leaders serve as a strategic guide for the development of Russian-Chinese relations," he noted.

He once again conveyed condolences to the families of victims in the recent terrorist attack on St. Petersburg’s subway, condemning it. "Together with Russia and other members of the global community, China will continue fighting against international terrorism for the sake of peace and stability across the globe," he vowed.

An explosive device went off on a subway train travelling between the Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations in Russia’s second biggest city of St. Petersburg on April 3. The blast claimed the lives of 15 people, including the suicide bomber. In addition, more than 50 passengers were injured.

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