Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet next week in Uzbekistan.
According to Russian state news agency Tass, the meeting between both leaders is expected as Beijing and Moscow step up their economic cooperation in response to Western-led criticism and sanctions.
The two presidents are scheduled to meet on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting taking place September 15–16.
The Russian ambassador to China, Andrey Denisov, made the announcement to reporters on Wednesday.
The meeting represents the most recent indication of improving relations between China and Russia, which have vowed to be friends in the face of growing economic difficulties at home and deteriorating relationships with the United States and its allies abroad.
Russia’s state-run energy giant Gazprom announced on Tuesday that it had signed an agreement with China to settle payments for gas in yuan and rubles rather than US dollars.
This is to lessen reliance on the US financial system after being subjected to repeated rounds of sanctions over its involvement in the conflict in Ukraine
The Xi-Putin meeting would be the first time the two leaders have spoken face to face since Moscow invaded Ukraine.
