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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping engaged in extensive discussions Sunday before the start of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, with their conversation covering recent U.S.-Russia diplomatic contacts, a Kremlin official said.
"Yes, our president, first of all, communicated in great detail, of course, with the Chairman of the PRC (People's Republic of China). They sat together and were able to talk actively, very effectively," Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Tianjin.
Ushakov said Putin briefed him that the discussion with Xi included updates on Russia's latest communications with the United States, though he provided no specifics about the nature of those contacts.
The meeting took place as Putin arrived in China for a four-day visit centered around the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of State Council meeting. The SCO, founded in 2001, includes Russia, China, and several Central Asian nations as a regional security and economic bloc.
Putin's visit extends beyond the multilateral summit. The Russian leader is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with other officials attending the gathering and participate in commemorative events in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II.
China plans to stage a military parade at Tiananmen Square on Wednesday as part of the anniversary observances. Beijing officially designates the 1937-1945 conflict as the "War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression" and views it as integral to what it calls the broader "World Anti-Fascist War."
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