Official talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place on March 21 in Moscow, followed by a press conference. This was announced by the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov during a briefing.

Earlier, the Kremlin announced that Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia on March 20-22.

According to Peskov, on March 21, communication between politicians will be informal in the form of a joint lunch, they will meet in the afternoon.

“March 21 is the day of negotiations. I will not go into details further. [Aide to the President of the Russian Federation Yuri] Ushakov will hold a briefing,” the Kremlin spokesman said, adding that a press conference is expected after.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said earlier on March 17 that Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia would be peaceful and would not be directed to third parties.

The last time Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met was in September 2022 in Samarkand on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. At the end of December 2022, the President of Russia invited the head of China to pay a state visit to Moscow in the spring of 2023.