Russia's Putin and China's Xi to confer this week — TASS quotes Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will speak before the end of the year, Russian state news agency TASS said on Monday, without giving details of the timing or format.

It quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying the two sides would release details in due course.

Putin and Xi proclaimed a “no limits” partnership between the two countries when the Russian leader visited Beijing in February, three weeks before his invasion of Ukraine.

With Western countries condemning the war and slamming Russia's economy with sanctions, the partnership with China has taken on even greater importance for Putin, though he publicly acknowledged in September that Beijing had expressed “questions and concern” over Ukraine.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Putin's Security Council, met Xi on a visit to Beijing last week.

Xi told Medvedev that China hopes all parties in the Ukraine crisis maintain restraint and resolve security concerns through political means, China's state news agency Xinhua reported.

Reuters