Kremlin pins high hopes on Putin-Xi meeting

The Kremlin said Monday that any contact between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will create new momentum for further expansion of bilateral relations.

Speaking at a press briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has "serious expectations" from Putin's two-day visit to China starting Tuesday.

All issues on the economic agenda of Moscow-Beijing relations are expected to be discussed during the visit, he added.

"Relations between Russia and China are very diverse," he said, with cooperation moving beyond trade and economy to medicine, culture and education.

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Commenting on the war in Ukraine, Peskov said the Kremlin expects the US to continue its mediation efforts to resolve the conflict.

"The peace process is currently on hold. We hope it will eventually resume," he added.

Russia only strikes military targets in Ukraine, he said, accusing Kyiv of attacks on civilian infrastructure across Russia.

He rejected claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia was preparing to attack Ukraine or a NATO country.

Zelenskyy on Friday accused Russia of trying to draw Belarus deeper into the war against Ukraine.

He claimed Russia is considering operations from Belarusian territory toward Ukraine's Chernihiv-Kyiv direction or potentially against a NATO member state.

"We know that additional contacts have taken place between the Russians and Aleksandr Lukashenko, aimed at persuading him to join new Russian aggressive operations," Zelenskyy said on US social media company X.