BANGKOK, May 16. /TASS/. The Ukraine conflict is one of the key issues on the agenda of talks between President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China, Thai political scientist Rom Phiramontri told TASS.

"Russia attaches great importance to its relations with China. This special relationship makes the visit to China pre-planned and the success of the visit predictable," the expert pointed out. "Understandably, the issue of the war in Ukraine was a key topic in the talks between the two leaders. But the overall target is not Ukraine, but the countries behind Ukraine. From the closeness of the two leaders and the mutual interests of the two countries, the outcome of the negotiations was positive and beneficial to both sides. This will be beneficial to the country and people of Ukraine and the countries behind it. It's just whether the United States and its allies will accept it or not," he added.

Putin stated earlier that he planned to brief Xi on the situation around Ukraine at an informal meeting later on Thursday. "President Xi Jinping and I have agreed to thoroughly discuss the entire range of foreign policy issues at an information meeting tonight. I will certainly brief the Chinese president on the situation related to the Ukrainian crisis," Putin told reporters following Russian-Chinese talks.

On Friday, the Russian delegation will visit the Chinese city of Harbin to participate in the opening ceremony of the 8th Russia-China EXPO and the 4th Russia-China Forum on Interregional Cooperation. In addition, the Russian delegation will meet with students and professors at the Harbin Institute of Technology.