Xi Jinping and Sergey Lavrov prepare Vladimir Putin for his visit to Beijing

In the midst of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday as a show of solidarity for one another and a common hostility to Western democracies.

This occurred before the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese counterpart Xi would be holding talks, although the announcement did not specify when Putin may visit Beijing.

When questioned about the possibility of a Putin visit to China, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s trip to Beijing may be seen as a lead-up to “upcoming contacts at the highest level.” Lavrov, in the meanwhile, said to Xi: “We are very happy for your achievements, as they are the fruits of friends. However, not everyone in the world has the same mindset, and we are making every effort to contain China.