The presidents of Russia and China, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, respectively, met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which was held in Kyrgyzstan. During the meeting, the two leaders addressed the Ukraine conflict, although the Kremlin clarified that the war was not the main topic under discussion.
The meeting between the two heads of state occurs in a context where China has been reinforcing its presence in Central Asia, a region of growing strategic importance. This Sino-Russian rapprochement follows an increasingly close partnership between Moscow and Beijing.
The Kremlin specified that the conversation focused predominantly on other bilateral matters, but confirmed that the Ukrainian question was also mentioned during the negotiations between the two leaders.
