RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will voice their shared views on international security at a meeting during the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China, said a Kremlin adviser today.

The leaders will meet in the Chinese capital on Friday, as their countries pursue deeper ties in the face of increasing criticism from the West.

“A joint statement on international relations entering a new era has been prepared for the talks,” top foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov told reporters during a briefing.

He said it will reflect Moscow and Beijing’s “common views” on security.

“China supports Russia’s demands for security guarantees,” he added, referring to the requests that Russia put to Nato and Washington over the ongoing crisis over Ukraine.

Ushakov told reporters that after talks with officials, Putin and Xi will hold a one-on-one meeting to discuss “pressing issues and questions”.

A number of agreements on gas are being prepared and Russian energy giant Rosneft head Igor Sechin will be travelling with Putin, he added.

The Russian president will take part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in the afternoon.

Russian officials are banned from attending international sporting competitions over a doping scandal. But they may attend if invited by the head of state of the host country.

Russian athletes are allowed to compete as neutrals – without the Russian flag or anthem – if they can prove their doping record is clean.

Beijing and Moscow have denounced a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Olympics from several countries over what Western governments argue are widespread rights abuses by China. – AFP, February 2, 2022.