Vladimir Putin-Xi Jinping to hold virtual meet on NATO, US amid boycott & sanction threats

Nearly a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the US President, he will be holding a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping on December 15, Wednesday. According to a report by New York Post, the core agenda of the meeting will be soaring tension between Moscow and Ukraine, aggressive rhetoric of NATO and the United States and some regional issues. "The situation in international affairs, especially on the European continent, is very, very tense, and of course, requires discussion between the allies, between Moscow and Beijing. We see very, very aggressive rhetoric, both from NATO and from the United States of America, this requires our discussion with the Chinese side," Sputnik news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Besides, the main focus of the meeting, Peskov said that the leaders of both nations will also share their views on some other key issues like energy, and bilateral relations. It is worth mentioning that US President Joe Biden had held a virtual meeting with Putin last week, where both the leaders exchanged sharp views on the Ukraine issue. Also, the leaders had discussed recent China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and the status of Taiwan.  According to US intelligence input, around 70,000 Russian troops are pressed near the Ukraine border by Putin and the forces have reportedly made all preparations to "invade Ukraine" next year. In response, POTUS had warned Putin to face "severe repercussions" if Moscow tries to invade Ukraine or try to destabilise the incumbent government.

G7 leaders too warned Putin over Ukraine issue

Earlier on Sunday, the top diplomats of the Group of Seven (G7) tabled a proposal to penalise Russia if it invades Ukraine, The Guardian reported. According to the British daily, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the inter-governmental political forum prepared all documents that were necessary to invoke anti-money-laundering laws. During the summit, ministers from six other nations also agreed on the UK's stand and added they were encountering a pattern of disruptive conduct by Russia. The countries noted it was unbearable to accept a country that wanted to alter the border of another nation, according to The Guardian. In order to stabilise the grave concern, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced to discuss the matter at the EU summit on December 16.

(With input from ANI)

Image: AP