Putin and Xi Jinping will discuss the Ukrainian crisis at a meeting in Samarkand

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will meet on September 15 in Samarkand as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, will discuss current international problems, this meeting will be of particular importance, writes TASS.

This was announced to journalists on Tuesday by the assistant to the head of the Russian state, Yuri Ushakov.
"This meeting itself, taking into account the peculiarities of the current international situation, of course, is of particular importance," the Kremlin representative believes. According to him, "it is planned that the leaders will discuss both the bilateral agenda and the main regional and international topics."
Putin and Xi Jinping will also discuss Russia's actions in Ukraine in detail, Ushakov said, noting Beijing's balanced position on the Ukrainian crisis. "China approaches the Ukrainian crisis in a balanced way, clearly states its understanding of the reasons that forced Russia to launch a special military operation," the Kremlin spokesman said. According to him, "this issue, of course, will be thoroughly discussed during the upcoming contact [of the leaders in Samarkand]."
Ushakov called the upcoming meeting between Putin and Xi Jinping "a long-awaited personal contact." He added that "this is the second personal meeting of the heads of state during the coronavirus pandemic," recalling that the first took place in February in Beijing, when the President of the Russian Federation came to the opening of the Winter Olympics. The Kremlin representative drew attention to the fact that "the leaders communicate by phone and exchange messages." He clarified that everything has been prepared for the upcoming negotiations.
An aide to the Russian leader predicts that Putin and Xi Jinping "will give a positive assessment of the unprecedented high level, trusting nature of the bilateral strategic partnership" of the two countries. Moscow and Beijing "jointly advocate the formation of a just, democratic and multipolar world order based on international law and the central role of the UN," Ushakov said. He recalled that at the recent Eastern Economic Forum, Putin met with the head of the Chinese parliament, Li Zhanshu, with whom "issues related to Ukraine, Taiwan and so on were raised." "This discussion, but at a higher level and on a wider range of issues, will be continued during the leaders' meeting," Ushakov said.
The Kremlin representative said that Putin and Xi Jinping will discuss the activities of the SCO, increasing the role of the organization in international affairs. Ushakov highlighted the development of trade and economic cooperation among the topics on the bilateral agenda. "In the current difficult situation, under the conditions of collective Western sanctions, this cooperation demonstrates stability, continues to develop steadily, gaining momentum," he stated.