Putin and Xi to meet virtually December 15

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be holding a virtual meeting on December 15.

The meeting was announced by the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying on Monday.

In a statement, the Chinese Spokesperson said “the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping on December 15 from Beijing will hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin via videoconference." 

No details of the meeting were provided by the Chinese diplomat, however, it comes as no surprise considering the recent virtual talks Putin had with US President Joe Biden. 

Talks were "frank" 

It is worth noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden held a two-hour virtual summit that discussed regional files, including developments in Ukraine and bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Kremlin described the talks as "frank" and said the Russian President requested Washington to provide guarantees NATO would not continue its eastward expansion.

"The conversation was open, substantive, and constructive... We have the opportunity to continue this dialogue, it seems to me… this is the most important thing," Putin stressed.

Biden expressed "deep concerns" to Putin over Ukraine, stressing that the United States and its allies would impose large-scale economic sanctions on Russia should it invade Ukraine, despite the Russian President's repeated confirmation that Moscow is pursuing a peaceful foreign policy whilst maintaining the right to defend its security in the medium and long terms.

This is the fifth conversation between Putin and Biden since the latter took office.