Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing and hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 4, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday.
"We are preparing an official Russian-Chinese summit ... Putin, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, will visit Beijing on February 4, the opening day of the Olympic Games. On the same day, full-scale negotiations at the highest level will take place," Sputnik quoted Lavrov as saying.
The talks will cover the entire spectrum of relations between Russia and China, Lavrov said.
Lavrov further stated that he, in turn, would hold a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on February 3, the Russian News Agency reported.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan will also visit China next month to attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Olympics and hold discussions on bilateral ties between the two countries, according to The News International.
The announcement that Putin and Imran Khan will attend the event follows a boycott announced by Western countries.
The US, Britain, Australia, and Canada have announced a diplomatic boycott of the event, while North Korea was the latest country to pull out, citing the pandemic.
Though athletes from around the world will travel to compete in the four-yearly event, no dignitaries from these western countries are expected to watch the games.
Western countries ranging from the US have boycotted the Beijing Olympics citing China's poor human rights record in the recent past ranging from actions against Uyghurs and Tibetians.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU