Putin and Xi Jinping held a video call to discuss various issues.

The conversation took place the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States. Details about the content of the discussion are still unclear, and it is unknown whether the leaders talked about Trump's inauguration and his initiatives, particularly regarding the resolution of the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin's press service released a video of the beginning of the meeting. Putin greets Xi Jinping with a wave, calls him a "dear friend," and mentions the need to "summarize the work done over the past period and outline new plans for the development of the comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China." He also noted that Russia and China share a "common view on how relations between major powers should be."

At the beginning of January, Putin stated that he would soon have a telephone conversation with the Chinese leader. However, the discussion took place via video link while adhering to formalities: flags of the countries were displayed behind the leaders.

Putin's assistant, Yuri Ushakov, informed journalists that the conversation with Xi Jinping lasted 1 hour and 35 minutes. According to Ushakov, the Chinese leader "briefly informed" about the content of his telephone conversation with the elected President of the United States, Trump, that took place on January 17. "The readiness to establish relations with the U.S. on a mutually beneficial and respectful basis was noted, provided that Trump's team shows reciprocal interest," Ushakov said. Additionally, he mentioned that Putin invited the Chinese leader to the Victory Day celebration on May 9 in Moscow.

Three days before Trump's inauguration, on January 17, he had a conversation with Xi Jinping. After taking office, Trump stated that he intends to speak by phone with Putin soon. Putin himself congratulated Trump on his inauguration during a meeting of the Security Council of Russia and expressed his readiness for contacts with him.

The main topic of the conversation, the date and time of which have yet to be determined, is expected to be the war in Ukraine. Trump recently reiterated his call for a "deal" with Putin, noting that by continuing the war, Russia is harming itself. So far, the Russian president has not publicly responded to these statements.

From the very beginning of the Russian invasion, China has declared a neutral position and called for peace. Meanwhile, Western officials assert that Beijing could exert pressure on Moscow to compel it to end the conflict.

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