KAZAN, October 22. /TASS/. The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit has ended. It lasted about an hour, a TASS correspondent reported.

In the open part of the talks, Putin emphasized that cooperation between Moscow and Beijing is "fair, mutually beneficial and absolutely unconditional." Xi Jinping characterized the level of bilateral ties as "unprecedentedly high."

The leaders touched upon the growth of trade turnover, the implementation of joint projects in a number of industries, as well as the development of humanitarian ties. Putin and Xi Jinping expressed their desire to discuss both the bilateral agenda and international issues. The Chinese Foreign Ministry earlier announced that the leaders would have a "profound exchange of views."