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Lavrov to travel to Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart, attend Belt and Road forum

Apart from discussing pressing international issues, the Russian and the Chinese sides are expected to hold a detailed economic dialogue

BEIJING, October 16. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will begin his working week with a visit to China, with talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi standing high on its agenda.

Their meeting will come less than a month after the two top diplomats met in Moscow, as the latest escalation between Palestine and Israel as well as the further deepening of the Ukraine crisis make synchronizing their watches extremely timely.

Apart from discussing pressing international issues, the Russian and the Chinese sides are expected to hold a detailed economic dialogue. Lavrov will be accompanying Russian President Vladimir Putin at China’s third Belt and Road international forum. The event will be hosted by Beijing on October 17-18.

Earlier, Putin confirmed he would take part in the forum as he said he was ready to discuss with Chinese leader Xi Jinping prospects for cooperation in hi-tech spheres, new routes of energy supplies and the development of a larger Eurasian partnership. "Although leader Xi [Jinping] will have a lot of guests, President Putin will be his key guest. I have no doubt that they will find time for a confidential, face-to-face meeting," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced ahead of the Russian delegation’s visit.