Putin accepts Chinese counterpart's invitation to visit China

Moscow: Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, declared on Wednesday that he had accepted his Chinese counterpart's invitation to travel to China in October for the Belt and Road Summit.

After a meeting in Moscow with Wang Yi, the foreign minister of China, Putin stated that China and Russia are "integrating our ideas of creating a large Eurasian space," emphasising that China's Belt and Road Initiative is a component of that.

Beijing has been extending its influence in emerging countries through the Initiative, a massive programme that entails infrastructural development, the Associated Press reported.

Putin has shifted Russia's focus towards China since it invaded Ukraine, selling it more energy and conducting more frequent joint military drills.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, China has taken a neutral approach and has even criticised Western sanctions against Moscow. Additionally, it asserted that it had a "no-limits" friendship with Russia last year and blamed NATO, the United States, and other countries for provoking Putin's military action.

As he met Wang Yi for security talks on Tuesday, senior Russian security official Nikolai Patrushev advocated for deeper policy cooperation between Moscow and Beijing to resist what he described as Western attempts to contain them.

As China and Russia have gotten closer as their relations with the West have gotten worse, the Kremlin has consistently stated its support for Beijing.

Wang travelled on a four-day visit to Russia on Monday after speaking with US Vice President Joe Biden's national security adviser in Malta over the weekend.

It was in July that Putin’s plan to visit China was initially announced.