Russian leader Vladimir Putin arrives in China for belt and road forum
- Russia’s president will join African and Southeast Asian leaders for two-day summit starting on Tuesday
- The event marks 10 years of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which Putin has said ‘fully meets and coincides’ with Russian interests
African and Southeast Asian leaders will also be among representatives from more than 130 countries and 30 international organisations expected to gather for the two-day event beginning on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday morning, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: “We are interested to seeing the 3rd international Belt and Road Forum be successful and we are confident that will be the case.”
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Security tight in Chinese capital as foreign leaders arrive for Belt and Road Forum in Beijing
Lavrov said he was “very happy” to be discussing the international agenda and other issues “that are necessary to prepare meetings between our leaders”.
More than 150 countries and 30 international organisations are currently on board, according to the foreign ministry.